Doors of Change
by Astorathgrim
Summary: Change. While some don't appreciate change, others embrace it. It is because it only takes one simple event to bring a new beginning for others. These beginnings can be seen as doors, which lead them to a new paths and new experiences. As the great Judy Hopps once said. "Change begins in you. It begins in me. It begins in all of us." - The journey of Nicholas Wilde and Judy Hopps -
1. Times of Change

**.**

 **Hey! This is my first fanfic so if I made any mistakes, I'm sorry ahead of time. This is my first time writing after all, never know what mistakes I'll make. Bah, anyways, please enjoy!**

* * *

Change. Within such a simple word, there is so much meaning. There are those who don't appreciate change, while others embrace it. Change can always be terrifying, but sometimes, it takes a change for those to realize what they had and what they've lost.

It only takes one simple event to bring a new beginning for others. These beginnings can be seen as doors, which lead to a new path with new experiences.

For the fox Nicholas Wilde, this door just so happened to be opened by a very energetic bunny for whom he is forever grateful for. This bunny showed him that you can be more than what others see you as, who set aside stereotypes to see who he truly was. Not for what he was on the outside, but on the inside.

For once in his life, he found someone who trusted him completely and who he could trust back. He found someone who believed in him and who would stay by his side no matter what. This bunny's name is Judy Hopps.

The event which changed his life forever was when he got a letter. Normally, the fox wouldn't be excited about what came in the mail. It usually consisted of bills, pointless ads, and papercuts. But this letter was special. The contents of said letter would direct him into a completely unexplored path. All thanks to one special bunny.

The letter contained a reply from the Zootopia Police Academy, which would decide if he would be spending the next six months of his life training his heart out, or if he would have to find a different door. Of course, with the recommendation of the Chief of Precinct 1 himself, who could say no?

"What does it say, what does it say?" jittered the enthusiastic bunny, who was currently hopping up and down with excitement next to Nick Wilde himself.

"Calm down Fluff, I haven't even opened it yet." He chuckled, sometimes that energy amazed him. Calmly, he sat down right next to the bunny on the couch located in Nick's apartment.

In truth, his place wasn't much. Above them, pipes hang from the ceiling, visible to the occupants of the room. The plain white wallpaper was peeling from it's resting place and the smell wasn't the greatest. To others, it wouldn't seem like the ideal location to live, but for Nick, it was a good place to lay low just in case a deal went wrong.

"Come on Nick! I'm sure Flash would've been proud but you're taking too long." At that, she hopped over and snatched the letter out of his paws with ease.

"Hey! I didn't know your last name ended with Wilde." Teased Nick, but he put no effort into retrieving the letter himself. On the outside, he may seem cool and collected with a sly smirk present as he waited for the final news. But if you were to take a look on the inside, you would be able to see how anxious and nervous he truly was.

Even with the optimism of getting a special recommendation from the Chief, (courteous of one Judy Hopps) he still couldn't shake the lingering feeling of doubt and denial in the back of his mind. What could he say, he's always been a natural pessimist.

"Dear Mr. Wilde, we would like to thank you for applying… blah blah… Even with a mammal of your background, it would be an honor if you would attend Zootopia Police Academy for the next SIX MONTHS! YES!" Judy's voice continued to rise in volume until she finished with an ear-piercing yell, followed by a back breaking hug.

The fox jumped at the sudden change in volume but was anchored in place by the hug.

"Uh… Judy… can't breaTH!" wheezed Nick. But breathing was the last thing in his mind. The thoughts that flooded his mind focused on what would come in the future since he had turned away from his old days of hustling.

After the ex-mayor was put behind bars, he made a promise to Judy. A promise that he would turn his back on his old scamming ways and to lead a clean, and better life. Sure, he may have been a cheat and a liar, but when he makes a promise, you can count on him to keep that promise.

"Oh! Sorry!" said Judy, releasing him "Nick, I knew you would be accepted! This is so exciting! We got to get you packed… It would probably be best if you did some reading of the training guide… Oh! I still have my old textbook I used when I was in the academy… You'll definitely need a pair of gym clothes…"

"Ugh, yes mother… How do you even know I don't have a pair already?" Nick asked, feign offense while carefully placing a paw over his heart.

Judy took no time to quickly fire back a response "Pu- _lease!_ All I ever see you in is that ugly Hawaiian shirt and tie."

"You wound me! I'll have you know that those are my favorite shirts. Besides, they look good on me."

"Right, if your definition of good is sticking out like a sore thumb, then good job. Why do you even wear those anyways?" Said Judy, oblivious to the falter of Nick's smile.

If he was honest with her, she would know that they reminded him of home. The walls of his childhood home had the same design as his shirts. But, he wouldn't tell Judy that. Not yet at least. Right now was a moment to celebrate, not a time to remember the past. **Fun fact, if you pay attention in the movie with Nick's childhood flashback. When he is in the mirror, you can see the wallpaper. And surprise! Same design and color lol**

"And here I thought you liked them. Besides, I don't have to go for another month. I've got plenty of time to get prepared." _Another time Judy…_ Nick thought.

"But in that month, you could be preparing! It really helped a lot for me when I went to the academy," said Judy, forgetting the other subject easily.

"I'm sure I'll be fine. How hard could it be?" asked Nick rhetorically.

"Oh, poor fox. With that attitude, you won't last a month." Judy _tsked_ "You probably won't even make valedictorian…" baited Judy.

"Oh yea? I bet I will. Tell you what; If I don't make valedictorian, I'll do whatever you want for an entire day. But if I do, then you will have to do whatever _I_ say for an entire day." smiled Nick with the famous half-eyelid stare with his paw thrust out for a pawshake.

Judy's smile suspiciously broadened. "I'm not sure it's such a good deal. I mean, you really don't have a chance at winning…" Judy pretending to think about it, when in reality, she already made up her mind.

"Ha! When have I lost? Besides, is the widdle wabbit scared she'll lose?" He wiggled his eyebrows, which caused Judy to giggle.

"Alright. You're going to regret making this bet." Judy replied, shaking his outstretched paw. In truth, she knew she just made a losing bet. But that wasn't going to stop her from pushing her friend to try his best. Even if he hadn't started training yet.

"I'm pretty sure that I won't. Now come on, I do actually need to get a new pair of gym clothes. I don't want the other trainees to see those old pieces of clothing. Once we're done, there's this nice diner that I'm sure you'll like. Because I'm starving." He shuffled off the couch and started to head towards the door without a second glance behind him.

"Always thinking with your stomach…" she mumbled to herself but loud enough for Nick to hear. Following suit, she trailed Nick out the door and into the streets of Zootopia.

* * *

"You know, I said I needed _a_ new pair of gym clothes. Not three…" Nick complained. They currently sat across from each other at a window seat inside Marian's Family Diner.

"You can never be too prepared. Who knows, you might need them." Judy reasoned.

"Right, I have now back-ups of my back-ups of my back-ups. The academy will be supplying standard issue gym clothes, those ones with big bold letters on the back that read 'Trainee.' I only needed one as a backup in case something happened to the others." Nick countered.

"Wait, how did you even know what was on those shirts anyways?" She raised a questionable eyebrow while she rested her head against her hand, staring into his eyes for an answer.

Nick gulped. The deer waiter with their food came in before he could formulate a reply to try and deflect the question or change the subject. In truth, while Judy was inside one of the stores trying to find the best deal, he was on his phone researching things about the academy.

He wanted to understand how things worked around the academy before he went. This had always helped him with hustling and various deals, so who said it wouldn't during training? He didn't want to go there, stay up for a night and then find out you had to wake up at 5am to start running. Lack of sleep there would definitely kill him.

"Green salad for the bunny and cricket burger for the fox. Please enjoy! Call me if you need anything." And with that, she left to go serve other customers.

"Oo, this looks good! We should probably dig in before our food gets cold," Nick said, glad the waiter came in for the rescue. He didn't want Judy to know he was taking that bet seriously. He wanted to see her face when he rises to that stage first at the ceremony. Not that he will graduate, right?

Judy was about to question him for avoiding the topic but the smell of the food in front of her washed away her thoughts. Quickly, she filled up a fork full of leaves and dressing and chowed down.

"Mmmmmmm…" she sighed. The dressing alone was enough for her to quickly swallow and fill the fork again to keep the taste in her mouth.

"Ok chubby bunny, slow down. I know it's good, but you got to savor this stuff. I would've offered some food sooner if I've known you were starving." chuckled Nick. He watched in amazement as she ate three full forkfuls of food by the time it took him to finish one bite of the burger.

"Hrm? Oh..." she swallowed the food and then nervously laughed "Sorry, I blame my family for that one. If I didn't eat quick enough, my other siblings would try to steal what was on my plate and I wouldn't be able to get seconds if I wanted to. Old habit I guess…" she trailed off, old memories of the orderly chaos of dinnertime with the Hopp's.

"Don't worry, I won't try to steal your precious little leaves," he smiled staring at the flustered rabbit wash down the rest of her food with her carrot juice. "How many siblings did you say you had anyways?" He said, regrettably taking a bite out of his burger.

"Well, I have 275 brothers and sisters…" Nick started to choke on his food after hearing the outrageous number of family members she has.

"You alright?" He looked up and saw the concern in her eyes. It was nice to have someone who cared about him who wasn't his mother.

"Uh… Hyeh- _Hrr-um..._ Yeah, never better. But could you repeat that? I'm not sure I heard you correctly." Nick said, finally swallowing the leftover food and washing it down with his blueberry smoothie, hurting his teeth in the process due to the quick switch from hot to cold.

"I have 275 brothers and sisters… I come from the 1st litter with my 7 other littermates."

"Uh-huh," was all the reply she got from Nick. This worried her, wondering if she said something wrong, because she was always trying to find a way to get him to shut up. But she chose not to comment on the matter and enjoyed her food. This time, at a reasonable speed.

"Soooo, how do you know this place? This food is amazing! It doesn't even look that popular, this should be all over the news with how good this stuff is." Judy said, trying to fill the uncomfortable silence that filled their booth.

"I know someone who works here. Helped me a lot when I was running my ehh… _deals._ Sweet guy, we should meet up with him sometime." Nick replied, while he reached into his pocket to pull out his signature sunglasses, popping them up on his head to hide his eyes from Judy.

"Oh, you really do know everybody." Judy nodded, remembering the time he told her those exact words. That was when he saw the world in a dark perspective until she came along and knocked those walls down. Pride swelled in her heart at the memory.

But she didn't pry for information. She knew better. Nick was trying to move on from his past and bringing up old memories certainly wouldn't help with that. If Nick wanted her to know, he'd tell her. But for now, she just stared in awe as he munched on his bugburger. Her sensitive ears picking up the crunching noises of the small lifeless critters being consumed.

"How can you eat that stuff?" Judy asked rhetorically. Crickets and other bugs were a necessity for predators to get a healthy source of protein without having to take a specially made protein pill. Nick noticed her disgust, a smile creeping on his face as he saw a perfect opportunity for him to get her to scrunch up her nose in the cutest way possible.

"Whuat, thish shtuff ish goohd. Youh dunnh knouw untish you try," Nick attempted to say while giving a full display of the crunchy critters in his mouth.

 _Bingo!_ Her nose recoiled and her eyes widened. Though she faked a gag, she smiled the whole time. "Nick! Finish what's in your mouth before talking! That's disgusting."

Nick gave a full-hearted belly laugh at her reaction once he swallowed a good portion of his food. This drew a few questionable eyebrows from other occupants of the diner because of the sudden outburst of laughter, but they didn't say anything.

After wiping a fake tear from his eye, he grabbed a cricket from his burger and offered it to her. "Seriously, you shouldn't judge by appearances, it's not as bad as it looks. It's actually really good!"

Judy recoiled at the presence of it near her and pushed his hand away. "Ew, no! I'm not going to try that!"

"Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?" Replied slyly.

"Because, I don't have to if I don't want to." She replied while crossing her arms in defiance.

"But you will when I graduate valedictorian. _Easiest bet ever made._ " snickered Nick as he popped the cricket in his mouth. All while watching her reaction as her eyes grew even wider than before. _One point for the dumb fox._

"Cheese and crackers!" She gasped. Her expression changed as a devious smile broke out across her face. "Are you sure? You have to run 1.5 miles within at least 11 minutes to even be considered valedictorian. You have to be fit for that but you aren't exactly eating healthy." Judy teased, eyeing his burger with a smug expression on her face.

"Leave my eating habits alone, Fluff! And I'm pretty sure that I can run that time without even breaking a sweat." Nick said, waving to the deer waiter for the check.

Judy chose not to reply, only acknowledgment she gave showing that she heard him was a shake of her head in disbelief.

"Hey, uh, Carrots? I forgot my wallet back at the apartment. Would you mind taking this? I'll pay you back!" Nick said with an easy smile, hopping out of the booth and already heading towards the door.

"Nick!" At that, the fox sprinted out of the diner.

* * *

After they finished eating and Judy paid the bill, she quickly caught up with Nick as they casually strolled the streets of Zootopia. Judy tried to stay mad at Nick after the scheme he pulled but couldn't for long. Nick's jokes brought a smile to her face easily. They talked about various topics ranging from politics to Judy's co-workers at Precinct 1.

Along the lines of them talking, Judy promised to call Nick every night while at the academy. Often to just give words of encouragement or to talk so he could relieve some stress. She knew how tough it would be for Nick and wanted to support him the whole way. Even though Nick insisted that she didn't need to do it, he was glad she offered her support. Of course, when she gave him the big bunny eyes, floppy ears, and twitchy nose; he just couldn't say no.

Somehow during the conversation, Nick's eating habits were brought back up. No matter how hard Nick tried to change the subject, Judy persisted on complaining about how unfit he was and offered a solution. The solution was simple, he could join Judy in her early morning jogs. With laziness dripping in his voice, he said 'no thank you'.

Eventually, the day got late and they split up to their respective dens. Nick, to his basement apartment and Judy to her shoebox. When Judy resigned during the Night Howler case, she left her apartment complex behind. But when she returned, even with the lack of a kitchen or even a bathroom, she still insisted on keeping her place, much to Nick's amusement.

Nick eventually found his way back home and quickly stuffed his face in the couch. After all the walking he did with Judy, he was exhausted. A sense of dread built up in Nick as the realization hit him. If he couldn't stand a simple walk in the park, how could he stand the 1.5-mile run? Judy's early morning runs didn't sound that bad now.

The thought of her expression when he got onto that stage with the title valedictorian was too much. Grumbling, he shuffled to sit upright and brought his phone out from his pocket to send a quick text to Judy.

 **Nick:** _Hey Carrots, I think I might take you up on that offer about jogging. Might help me get used to waking up so early in the morning. Doesn't hurt to try, unlike some-bunny…_

Rereading the text, he clicked 'send' and pocketed the phone, not expecting her to reply right away. He wondered what her expression was when she read that text. The image of a wide-eyed bunny with her mouth hanging opened caused him to snicker. But his thoughts were quickly interrupted by a vibrating phone.

 **Judy:** _What's a matter dumb fox? Afraid to lose our bet?_

 **Nick:** _Not at all, I saw it as a perfect opportunity to tease you more, that's all._

 **Judy:** _Sure, I'll see you at 5 in the morning. Night Nick!_

Nick groaned while thinking. _Why 5 in the morning? That's at least 4 hours of sleep I'll be missing out on…_ but kept his complaints to himself. He sent a quick text to Judy wishing a good night with a couple of thumbs up emojis.

After he finished plugging in his phone on the charger and taking off his shirt, he shuffled to his bed and fell asleep upon contact.

* * *

"Nick."

…

"Nick!"

...

"NICK!"

"It was Finnick, I swear!" At the sudden outburst of a familiar sound, he quickly shot up and put his paws in the air as to surrender.

A sudden burst of laughter caused Nick to give a confused look around his room. After quite a bit of searching (He wasn't exactly awake), he pinpointed the source to one hyperactive bunny. He rubbed his eyes in vain to stay awake and to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

"Not cool Fluff…" Nick said while giving her a very unamused look. The same look he gave her when she confronted him on his evasion of taxes.

"Yo-you… should've seen… your FACE!" replied Judy, all the while trying to keep a straight face but failing miserably.

Groaning, Nick flopped back onto the bed and stuffed his muzzle into a pillow. "Why are you here at…" He lifted his head to view his bedside clock, "5:17am, seriously what's the deal?"

Wiping a tear off her overjoyed face, she finally calmed down to talk in a clear tone, "I told you I would be here at 5 in the morning."

Just like that, the memories of last night hit him. He stuffed his muzzle in his pillow once again. He started to regret sending that text in the first place. "Five more minutes, please…" Nick pleaded, while getting comfy in the cozy bed of his once again.

"Oh, no you don't. Once you fall asleep you won't want to get back up. So come on!" Judy said.

"Noooooo... Sleep… hmmm…" He started to fall back asleep but was quickly brought back to reality when he left a breeze of cold.

His blanket has been taken.

"Come on sleepy head, stop acting like a kit," Judy said before noticing Nick's state of appearance and turning her head away with a blush.

Nick raised his head to snap but couldn't bring himself to do it seeing the look of embarrassment on her face. Looking down, he realized why she was so flustered.

It was her first time seeing Nick without a shirt.

Chuckling to himself and letting out a yawn, he sat up from the bed trying to wake himself up. "Is the poor little wabbit embarrassed?" Nick said, wiggling his eyebrows in the process.

"Just get ready! I'll meet you in the lobby, don't take too long!" Judy said while walking out of his apartment, closing the door behind her with a slam.

Now Nick was all alone in his thoughts, wondering how Judy got in his apartment in the first place. But he quickly solved that mystery when he remembered giving her his spare key in case of emergencies.

Obediently, he got up and changed into his new gym clothes and headed out the door to go meet Judy in the lobby.

* * *

"Carrots!" Nick wheezed.

"Judy! Slow... *puff* down!" Currently, Nick and Judy lightly jogged around Zootopia's main park. They've only been doing it for 15 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity for Nick.

"Come on Nick, we're hardly even jogging," Judy said, looking back at the fox struggling to keep up with her. He started to stumble and tripped over his tail. With a yelp, he face-planted into the dirt.

Concern washed over her face as she watched her friend fall. She quickly ran back over to him and offered her assistance, leading him over to the nearest park bench, conveniently situated right next to where Nick fell.

"You alright?" She said, staring at Nick as his tongue dangled out of his mouth in an attempt to expel unwanted heat. She handed him her water bottle that she always took with her, which he accepted gratefully.

After a few minutes of recovery, Nick was finally able to reply. "That's one way to wake up..." Nick chuckled.

A flood of relief, as well as a smile fell upon her face. Even after tasting dirt, stepping on his tail, and squishing his muzzle, he still found ways to joke.

A few more moments of silence fell upon the duo, listening to the morning bugs sing. The bunny was the first one to break this silence.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?" Nick asked, quickly flipping his face around to face Judy. This time, his face covered in concern.

She looked at the ground in guilt, avoiding his gaze. "I shouldn't push you so hard..."

"Don't beat yourself up fluff. If anything, I should be the one to apologize." Nick said, facing his head back toward the scenery before them.

Confused by his statement, she looked at Nick. The morning sun shined upon his red fur brilliantly. She kept quiet waiting for him to clarify. Eventually, he did.

"We haven't been running that long and I was already out of breath. You're right, I am out of shape." Nick chuckled, then faced Judy again, where their eyes locked. "Just try and let me get used to this first, alright?"

Relief flooded her. There had been a nagging fear infecting her thoughts during the silence. She was afraid that Nick wasn't going to continue with her in her morning jogs because of the previous event. Instead, he regarded the whole morning as if it had never happened.

Realizing she probably looked like a deer frozen in headlights (she didn't want to offend any deer), Judy responded with a nod and waited until Nick was ready to continue on their jog.

* * *

Days seemed to fly by quickly. During the month, they developed a comfortable routine. The routine consisted of Judy waking Nick up, getting him to get up, and then going out into the park and jogging for an hour. Then they would go their separate ways; Nick, back to his apartment in an attempt to get more sleep. While Judy headed back to her apartment to get prepared for a day making the world a better place.

When Nick eventually woke back up, he took a cool shower and studied the police manual Judy gave him like a good little school kit. He was determined to win that bet.

Over the time, Nick had been getting better at waking up so early in the morning, along with improving his stamina. Two weeks into the jogging journey and Nick was able to keep up with Judy's 'slow' pace. Three weeks and they were jogging at her normal pace. And during the last and final week, she was able to go her fast pace without him stopping every ten minutes.

Even though he would never admit it, he was grateful for his time spent jogging with Judy. He knew that the experience would help dramatically during the police training.

But now, it was time to cut their routine short. The predator and prey currently sat on a public bench at the Zootopia Train Station, waiting for the correct train to take Nick away for a good 6 months of his life.

"Do you have your gym clothes?"

"Yes."

"What about your brush, don't want to have fur sticking out all over the place."

"Of course, Carrots."

"Phone and charger?"

"When would I leave without that?"

"What about…"

"Yes. Relax Carrots, I'll be fine. It's only six months." Nick interrupted her with a chuckle. Judy had been pestering Nick like his mom had for his first day of school. He appreciated that she cared, but he really didn't need her to worry.

"Sorry, I'm just so excited! In six months, you're going to become a police officer!" She was practically glowing in her seat as she hopped up and down in excitement. Of course, the over energetic bunny drew a few questioning eyebrows from pedestrians going about their day, but after making eye contact with the fox next to her, they ignored her.

"Calm down Carrots, I thought I was supposed to be excited, not you. How do you even know I'll make it anyways?" Nick trailed off, his usual pessimism showing itself.

"What? Of course you'll make it! I have no doubt about that. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself. The only question now is, will you make valedictorian or not?" Judy said, trying to repair the atmosphere that was dampened by Nick's comment.

"Of course I'll make valedictorian, I want to see your face when you taste those crunchy, _tasty_ critters," Nick said turning his head to face Judy, watching for her reaction as he licked his chops in the process.

As predicted, her eyes widened and her nose scrunched up just the way he liked it. Judy quickly averted her gaze from him and looked out across the train station.

Dozens of mammals of all species walked across the public station, going about their daily lives. They paid no mind to their surroundings, only to their task at hand. Trains were departing and arriving. A train horn brought both the mammals out of their thoughts as they looked around to find the source.

The source of the noise was an incoming train due to depart to another region of Zootopia that was closest to the academy. The train Nick needed to board.

Nick's heartbeat quickened and his blood pumped with adrenaline. _This is it, this is where it begins._

"Relax Nick, you'll be fine. I'll call you every night if you need somebody to talk too." Judy reassured Nick. He didn't realize that he had begun to breathe hard but quickly calmed down at the voice of his best friend giving him comfort.

"Thanks. So this is goodbye, huh?" Nick asked, as they both got up from their seats and walked ever so slowly towards the train, not wanting to leave.

"Yup, I guess it is. Next time I see you, I expect to see you as an officer." Judy smiled.

"That you will…" Nick said, watching as mammals of all kinds departed from the train, clearing space for others to enter. He tore his gaze from the train to look down at the bunny standing next to him.

"Alright I know you want to, so come here," Nick smiled, he dropped his travel bag to the ground and held out his arms, hoping that a certain bunny would embrace him.

Not two seconds later, he was hit by a ball of gray fur, hugging him in the tightest hug possible. This almost caused him to fall over and tripping over his stuff but he recovered. Even if it was only for 5 seconds, it felt like an eternity for the duo, who would both cherish the moment the whole day.

Just as Nick was turning around with his bag in paw, Judy shouted: "Oh! I almost forgot! Here!" She said, running up to him and handing him an orange object.

To others, it may not seem much, but for Nick and Judy, especially the fox, it was a treasure. The object was the carrot pen. It meant a lot to the two because it had been the thing that had brought them together, twice. First, when Judy confronted him about her case. The second, under the bridge. It was a sign of their unbreakable bond. A sign to show that the other would be there when they needed them the most.

A genuine and positive smile broke out across his face, as he looked at the small symbol of friendship. But he was broken from his trance when Judy began to push him towards inside the train, sending him into uncharted waters.

"Good luck!" Was all the reply she said as the doors of the train began to close, physically cutting him off from changing his mind. _There's no going back now…_ Nick thought as he watched his favorite bunny wave frantically at him as the train departed from the station.

Nick gave a two-finger salute out the window before the train moved out of the station and began its journey towards the unknown.

Removing his eyes from the outside world, he looked into his paw with curiosity, wondering why she would give him such an object. Clicking the side of the pen to replay messages, he soon found out why.

' _You can do it, I know it.'_

* * *

 **Hey! For those of you who ignore this message, I hope you enjoy the next chapter.**

 **And for those who read every word, thank you for spending your time to read my first ever fan fiction of Zootopia. It means a lot! Honestly, I never expected me to do it. But there was a nagging story plot stuck in my head that I just had to get into physical words. I have a lot planned for this story and I hope you enjoy! Please leave a comment if you have time to tell me how I did or what I could do to improve. Afterall, this is my first time creating a story, so I'm not exactly sure if it's what the reader wants.**

 **Anyways, thank you for reading. Follow if you would like to see more. I plan on writing at least 5k-7k words every chapter. This might take time but the next chapter should be uploaded in the next couple of days.**

 **Until next time! Peace!**

 **Edited by NickelAz and Startreker243! Big thanks!**


	2. New Doors Open

**.**

 **As promised, I give you a new chapter within the next few days. Or hours… What's the difference? All thoughts aside, thank you for those who already followed and favorited my story. I don't want to disappoint you!**

 **Finally, big thanks to** _ **zootopia fan of fiction**_ **for giving my story its first review. I'm glad you like it so far, even if it was just fluff.**

 **That's all I have to say for now. So please, enjoy!**

* * *

Stepping out of the taxi, Nick paid the cab driver and closed the door behind him. Taking a deep breath, he turned around and looked up as the taxi drove away.

' _Zootopia Police Academy'_ Read the sign, right above his head in gold letters.

 _So this is where I'm going to be spending the next six months of my life?_ Nick thought, scanning the area to get familiar with his surroundings.

Currently, Nick stood at the front gate, ahead lie a large rectangular field of green grass. On the grass, the fox saw others going about their day, most likely new recruits like him. Behind them stood a large two-story building. It's design was nothing short of fancy. Anyone could easily find where the front door is located, for the middle section of the building was extended out and had a crown like design located on its roof. His research from earlier told him this is where he would be training and studying in. Also the place where Nick needed to go in order to check-in.

He turned his head to look left of the courtyard and saw two buildings. They were simple two story buildings with a white exterior. Thanks to Nick's research once again, he knew that these were the dorms, the place where he and the other recruits would sleep. Finally, located on the right side, stood one red-brick building. This building, Nick did not want to get called into. Located inside, was where the superiors and senior staff stayed. If he got called in there, he could safely assume it was bad.

Concluding his sight-seeing, Nick sighed and began to move forward.

As he got closer, he could tell the types of animals who were in the courtyard. There was a pair of arctic wolves, chatting amongst themselves at the far end of the place, secluded from contact. Closer to the door stood a zebra, who leaned its back against the main building with the head facing the ground. And finally, there was a large group of mammals who talked amongst themselves at the center of the courtyard. Inside the group were two tigers, a bull, and a brown bear.

He also saw four flag poles, which he failed to see at the front gate. They seemed to camouflage into the main building, hiding their appearance. On two of the flags flew Zootopia's national flag. The other two proudly displayed the academy's motto and sign. The flag was folded due to the lack of wind, so he couldn't get a good view of the design.

Ignoring the groups, he headed straight for the main building's front door. Just before he was able to step inside, the zebra called out to him.

"Needing something, fox?" She said, without even turning her head to look at him. This made him stop and look up at her. She wore a simple red shirt with blue denim jeans. There was no jewelry located anywhere on her body that the fox could see.

"Actually yeah. Where do I go to sign-in?" Even though he knew, it was still a test to see if this mammal could become a friend or foe. He predicted two possible outcomes; either she would judge his decision on joining the academy or she would help him out.

"They let a fox in? What's the world coming too?" _Foe..._ Nick thought glumly. Without showing his change in mood, he faced away from the zebra and started to push the doors open to head inside but was stopped again by the same zebra.

"Head in, towards the right is a desk. Talk to the mammal running that desk, they'll get you setup." She grumbled, barely audible but still there. With Nick's pointy ears already faced her way, he caught it just before he entered the building.

 _Potential friend…_ Nick thought but voiced "Thanks Stripes!" He quickly shut the door behind him before she could give a response.

Inside was less fancy than its exterior. The walls were displayed with a simple light green criss-cross pattern, with fake plants filling the empty space along with benches. Ahead was a set of stairs, going up towards the second story. To the left was a locked door. A golden sign was located to the right of the door, informing the viewer of the contents of said room.

' _Cafeteria'_ Reading the contents of the plate caused a reaction in his stomach, demanding nutrients.

Ignoring his audible stomach, he turned his head towards the right door. The door was open, allowing the occupants to enter and exit as they please. The plate next to this door read ' _Office and Gym'_

Concluding that this was the direction he need to go, he headed off into the room with his travel bag slung over his shoulder. Nick's pointy ears once again stood erect and turned towards the noise in this room.

This noise came from a black sheep who stood at the front of the main desk. Her head barely reached the top of the desk, due to the desk being built for larger mammals. She attempted to talk to the employee but couldn't get his attention.

The gray wolf employee simply typed away at his keyboard, ignoring his surroundings.

"Uhh… Excuse me?" She said with a light voice, just a bit higher than a whisper. But her voice was drowned out by the sounds of the clicking keyboard.

"Hello?" She tried again with a slightly higher voice but still no response.

"Hello! My good sir!" Yelled Nick, easily getting the attention of the wolf and startling the sheep in the process. Due to Nick's size, the canine had to bend over the desk to get a look him.

"Hello, can I help you?" he said, in a somewhat gruff voice with false enthusiasm; clearly bored.

"I believe black wool here was first." Nick said, pointing his paw towards the sheep. She looked at Nick with surprise but gave a grateful nod and turned towards the wolf, who was already staring at her.

"Um, I'd like to sign-in please." She said, messing with her hooves while she looked at the floor before looking up to see if the wolf heard her this time.

He had so he began to type on his keyboard again. "Name?" He asked.

She mumbled something which was in-audible to both canines. "Please repeat that…"

"Bella Cotton" Her response earned a chuckle from the wolf and one almost from Nick if he hadn't caught himself. If she was offended by it, she never showed.

"Gym clothes, gear and info pamphlet on the table located to the right. Wait in the courtyard for the instructor. Next!" The wolf said, pointing a claw over to a large desk. On the desk, Nick could see several stacks of matching gray and blue gym clothes, along with boots and stacks of paper. Bella quickly fast-walked over toward the table and headed out the door without a second glance back.

"Yes?" Said the wolf, who addressed Nick this time.

"I'd also like to sign in, names Nick Wilde." The wolf eyed the fox curiously for a few seconds before he began to type the information on his keyboard.

"Gym clothes, gear and info pamphlet on the table located to the right. Wait in the courtyard for the instructor." Said the wolf with a heavy sigh and began to type on the keyboard once again. As told, Nick grabbed the necessary items he was required and stuffed it in his travel bag for easy carry. The gear that they were given was a set of heavy duty boots, a utility belt and a radio. Surprisingly, the items were fox size. Nick concluded that they were specially made for him to use.

After he dealt with those items, he took out the pamphlet with bag in the other paw, and headed out the door. Looking at the information card, he saw that it gave a map of the academy's grounds along with the requirements in order to pass the academy.

Nick's research on the academy paid off as each building he viewed was infact correctly predicted. But what Nick did not expect was that behind the main building, there were sets of environment courses waiting to be used.

Nick waited in the courtyard for the instructor, reviewing the information given on the pamphlet. Not 30 minutes later, a large elephant arrived out of the staff building, heading straight for the other recruits. A booming voice over the intercom echoed throughout the courtyard.

' _All recruits, please report to the courtyard. All unauthorized personnel, please leave now.'_ The voice could easily be identified as the wolf at the front desk by his gruff voice.

He looked up from the paper and noticed one of the tigers leave, along with the brown bear. This left the tiger, bull, zebra, sheep, both wolves, and fox standing in the courtyard. One more mammal joined the group of recruits, who was a hefty rhino.

Turning to face the incoming elephant, Nick recognized this mammal as the instructor. If the blue shorts and gray T-shirt with the letters ' _ZPA'_ on the back hadn't give it away, the whistle which was hanging from her neck and a blue cap on top of her head would've. She had her focus downward, observing what was written down on a clipboard she carried.

The other recruits, mainly the tiger, chatted while waiting for the instructor to address them. Finally, she looked up from the clipboard and yelled "Quiet!" with a stern voice. At the sudden command, the courtyard became silent and all eyes were on the elephant.

"Jason Crown"

"Here" Said the bull with a bored expression and arms crossed.

"Maxwell Hero"

"Here" Said the rhino with no emotion.

"Kenya Blake"

"Here Ma'am" Said the zebra, standing straight with full attention upon the instructor.

"Echo Carson"

"At your service" Said the male wolf in a false british accent. This earned a few chuckled from others, followed by a good punch in the arm from the other wolf.

"Luna Carson"

"Here" Spoke the other wolf, who still glared to her brother.

"Jerry Lore"

The instructor voice was met with silence, as no one replied after that name had been given. The instructor simply wrote something on the clipboard, most likely their absence and moved on with the list.

"Nick Wilde"

"Present" Piped Nick in a school kid voice, getting a few chuckles out of the other recruits.

"Ryan Phanex"

"Here" Said the tiger, emerging from the back of the group.

"And Bella Cotton"

"Here" she said, in the soft voice once again.

"You're going to have to speak louder than that sweetheart." Said Jason, the bull.

"Shut it Crown!" Said the elephant in a shockingly loud volume, this caused the majority of the group to shrink back in shock. There were no more comments from the bull except a confident smile on his face.

For the next few minutes, the instructor viewed the mammals with a judgemental stare in the blanket of silence. It was as if she had been attempting to understand them before she got to know them. The silence was broken by the elephant.

"I've got to say, I expected more from this year's recruits, but I'm disappointed." Giving the group a look over, lingering stares directed at the sheep and fox of the group. "Welcome to Zootopia's Police Academy! You sorry excuses for bags of fur will be spending your next six months here. Unless you get kicked out, of course." The thought made Nick shiver but focused on the instructor's words more.

"Ah! Thank you for pointing it out but I'm afraid we've already been informed on how long we'll be staying. But your care is greatly appreciated." Nick said with a mockingly respective tone.

"SHUT IT FOX!" The elephant hollered, drawing a smile onto the fox's muzzle.

"Where was I? Oh yes. There are rules you must follow, rules I expect you to follow... Rule number one! Only speak when spoken to." She fixed her hard glare towards the fox. "Rule number two! When you address me, you will address me as ma'am, no exceptions!" She exclaimed without removing her eyes from Nick, causing him him to feel uncomfortable. "Finally, and more importantly, rule number 3…" she said, looking down with a heavy sigh. After some time spent thinking, she eventually looked up.

"You all will be working together for the next six months, so I don't want to see any fights. If you don't like someone, keep it to yourself! If one of you gets picked on by the others, notify me or any other senior staff. Am I clear?"

"Yes ma'am." said the group in disorganized unison, making the words hard to decipher.

"I said. Am. I. CLEAR?" shouted the instructor, pointing at the group with her trunk.

"Yes ma'am!" They said, much better than last time.

"Good. Head over towards the mess hall and get some energy. Meet out here at the courtyard at 1700! Dismissed!" She said as she turned around to the direction of the staff building and walked away.

With that, the chatter began once again as everyone began to walk toward the main building, hungry for food.

The group did little to acknowledge Nick's presence, often ignoring him as he tried to start up a conversation or gave replies that wouldn't lead to further communication. As upset as Nick was at the fact, he was used to it. Infact, he predicted that this was going to happen.

During his days on the streets, he was always given the cold shoulder, often afraid the sly fox was planning something tricky. Of course, during that time, this was the case. But the fox was a changed mammal and only wanted to get to know his fellow trainees. If experience taught him something, he'll need as many allies as he can get.

But sadly, he was only a shadow to them.

He wasn't the only one.

"Hey." Said Nick, running up to catch up with the black sheep named Bella.

"Oh, hi." She said and avoided his stare by gazing upon the ground.

"How do you think of this place so far?"

"Um… It's a lot bigger than I imagined it would be..." She trailed off, looking up as they entered the cafeteria.

"More food for us. I don't know about you but I'm starving!" Nick said excitedly, nose wiggling and tail wagging at the thought of fresh food. He soon ran off from Bella's side to grab a tray.

He soon stood behind the other recruits, waiting for his chance to get food but realized a new problem. Since he's arrived, much of the various objects such as chairs, desks and even stairs were built for much larger animals than himself. This included the serving rack where they were suppose to get their food from.

Coming up with a quick solution, he jumped up upon the sliding tray in order to get access to the grub. Now that he was able to see, his energy seemed to plummet.

"What is this? Prison food?" He said, as he stare in disbelief at the sight of the 'food'. The appearance seemed nothing more than a big blob of gray substance. He looked up to the expressions of the other recruits to see they were thinking the exact same thing.

"Quit your whining, it's better than nothing." a new voice claimed. This voice was the staff in charge of dispersing food throughout the cafeteria.

"What? I'm pretty sure I'd live longer if I stayed clear of that spitball." Nick argued.

"Do you want to eat or not?" The white bear asked, holding out a scoop of 'food'.

Sighing in defeat, he held out his tray to allow the bear to give him the meal. Once given, he shuffled off of the sliding tray and onto the ground floor. From there, he looked up towards the various tables and chairs scattered throughout the hall. Now that he had a chance to, he could clearly see the other staff. Of course, all of them ranged from large prey and predators.

Nick locked his eyes onto an empty window booth at the far corner of the room. Seeing as there wasn't anywhere else to sit, he walked over and sat down there. Picking up his fork, he poked his meal with it, childishly thinking it might walk right off the tray. Instead, all it had done was jiggle at the touch. Looking up to see how the other cadets were faring but instead noticed Bella looking around, tray in hoofs, for a place to sit. Nick raised his paw and called her name out.

She turned towards the noise and started to walk over to him. Once she was within talking range, he spoke: "Hey! If you want, you're welcome to sit here." Nick kindly offered, not wanting to push her out of her comfort zone.

"Umm… Sure, that sounds nice. Thanks." she said, sitting into the chair across from the fox.

A silence filled their table as Nick aimlessly tried the grub, fearing it as if it was poison. Upon contact with his lips, he found it much better than he originally thought it could've been. Old memories during his time with Finnick showcased themselves as he continued to eat the slob.

It was a simpler time three years ago; back then, he didn't have to constantly worry about crime bosses chasing him or crazy rabbit officers tracking him down for his knowledge. During this time, Finnick and Nick were living off the streets with no place to live.

One day, the large eared fox decided to bring home some 'food'. He said he got it for cheap from a guy he knew but Nick thought twice about trying it. The food he brought had the same appearance as the stuff they ate here, except it hadn't tasted nearly as good. Nick had to rush the poor little fox to the hospital from food poisoning.

They learned to always question cheap food from that moment on. _Simpler times, I wonder what ol' grumpy doing now?_ He thought but brought out of his thoughts when Bella coughed, catching Nick's attention.

"Hey, you're Nick right?"

"The one and only. And you are?" Nick asked politely, even though he heard her name a couple of times, he still wanted to give her a chance to speak.

"Names Bella." She said, looking down at her hooves.

"Nice to meet you Bella." He said, lifting his paw and giving it out so she shake it.

After some hesitation, she accepted the paw/hoof shake. She released her light grip on his hand and began to poke her food like Nick did earlier.

"It's not as bad as it looks, it's actually pretty good, but still could be better." She gave him an eye of disbelief but still she grabbed a forkful and tasted. By her expression, she clearly hadn't liked the taste but continued to eat anyways.

"So, why'd you sign up for academy? If that's alright to ask." Nick said, starting up a conversation with probably the most frequently asked question around.

"No, no it's alright to ask. I was actually inspired by a friend." She said, this time finally letting her sky blue eyes meet Nick's emerald pair.

"No kidding? Same here." Nick said, glad to have found some common ground with her.

"Really?"

"Yup, so what she do to get you to make such a big decision?"

"...Well, she sorta protected me from a bully back when I was little. I was back in my hometown during a festival, and that bully stole my tickets. She came out of nowhere and stood up to that guy. She did get hurt in the process but she got my tickets right back." She said, after a brief pause, she continued."I really admire her bravery." She said confidently and looked back up to see his reaction.

"It's a shame she got hurt. I hate bullies, can't stand them. I was bullied when I was young too. But my friend, she came in and changed complete who I was. I probably wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for her." He trailed off, thinking of the time at the sky tram.

He really wouldn't have been there if it weren't for her. Of course, he would've never gotten into those situations like swinging from a vine in the middle of the Rainforest district if he hadn't met her. Still, she put him on even terms with a crime boss that wanted him dead, she believed in him, and she gave him a better life. If he's living now then he might as well had been dead in the past.

Taking out his phone to check the time, he discovered it was 4: 47pm.

"Well, we better head out into the courtyard early and wait for further instructions. Better safe than sorry." Nick said, pocketing the phone and looking up towards her.

She gave a nod and they both picked up their trays to throw away, and headed out the door with their bags resting on their backs.

"Hey short stuffs, where you heading? We still got time left." Came a voice behind them.

Turning to address the the figure, Nick spotted the table where it came from. This table was filled with the bull, tiger and zebra. Neither the zebra or tiger were facing them, so it became clear who was talking to them.

"Don't look at me. I'm just following orders." Nick told the bull with a shrug and continued walking out the door, following closely behind Bella.

"Listen, if you need any help, just come ask me. I wouldn't mind lending a paw." Nick said, after he finally caught up with her.

"That would be nice, thanks." She said, giving Nick an appreciative smile.

* * *

Both Nick and Bella now waited for the instructor out in the courtyard. Nick wasted time by messaging friends on his phone and checking his Furbook account for any updates. Bella on the other paw seemed to be lost in her own thoughts, idly staring at the clouds above her head. Not ten minutes later, the other recruits showed up, along with the elephant.

She informed the trainees on the basic ground rules, where they could go and where was off-limits. Such as the environmental courses without a senior staff supervisor.

After she was done talking, the training instructor did quick work on separating the cadets into males and females. She left with the female part of the group as she led them towards their respective building in order to check-out rooms. For the rest of the group, they were guided into the other building by the gray wolf employee. He gave a quick tour of the building, informing the newest recruits where the showers, bathrooms and bedrooms were located.

Once the tour was over, he assigned each cadet their own respective room and told them to be up by 0600 sharp tomorrow. With that, he left without another word.

The rooms were nothing special. It was a small room, enough to fit a bed, dresser, closet, and enough room to walk around comfortably. It also had one window that gave a good view of the courtyard.

Nick quickly unpacked, putting his clothes into the dresser, stashing his alarm clock on top of said dresser and set the alarm to go off at 5:30, and plugged in his charger into the nearby outlet. Next, he pulled out the carrot pen from his pocket and sat it down next to the alarm clock. He finished by changing into night clothes and fell upon his bed staring at his phone.

 _9:59pm, Judy should be calling in one minute..._ He thought with a smile. Sure enough, not one minute later, Nick's phone began to ring.

"Hey Carrots! You know it's creepy how ontime you were." Nick answered, smiling at the camera. He looked at his screen, viewing Judy's face due to the use of the MuzzleTime program.

"Hey! How was the first day?" She asked with a mirrored smile.

"Honestly, _boring!_ All we did was get checked in, eat, lectured about _rules,_ and met each other. I at least thought they were going to push us with exercises, to see if they could scare one of us off." Nick said with a snicker.

"You may think it's easy now, but just wait till tomorrow." Judy said with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh? And what happens tomorrow, wise bunny?" Nick said while he wiggled his eyebrows to get a giggle out of her, which worked.

"Nope! These lips are sealed. You're going to have to find out tomorrow like the others. Who's your training instructor anyways?"

"You know, now that you mention it, she never gave us her name. She's a big floppy elephant. Her face looks like this…" He said, creating an emotionless face with a hard frown.

"Ha! Nick, you look like Bogo. But it sounds like you got Aurelia Longhorn. She's even more strict than my old instructor, I believe..." Judy said, deep in thought.

"Fun…" Nick mumbled, "So Carrots, anything new at the Precinct?" He asked, trying to keep the conversation up as long as he can.

"I'm glad you asked! Because Chief decided to give me a case!" Judy said with refined energy and enthusiasm.

"Really now? What's it about?" Nick curiously asked.

"Nope! You know I can't tell you that." Judy said matter-of-factly.

"Why are you being so secretive today..." He said with a grown.

"I guess you'll have to find out on that one too. Anyways, I gotta go. My parents are going to call here soon." Judy said, looking around as if searching for something.

"What's the occasion?" Nick asked, curious on why they would call.

"Just to check up on me, they call every night. If I don't answer, they sorta freak out..." She said with her ears down over her head in an attempt to cover her face in embarrassment.

"Are they afraid of a big bad fox eating their poor innocent daughter?" Nick teased, bring his claws into the camera's view.

"They may have expressed that concern once or twice before…" She replied cautiously.

"Really? Don't you think that's a little too much?" Nick said, chuckling at the flustered bunny.

"Well no… Sorta? It's complicated. I like to keep in contact with them. Doesn't your mother call once in awhile?" She asked, pointing the spotlight onto Nick this time.

Nick's ears pinned back slightly as he looked away from the screen. "Oh, Nick! I'm sorry, we don't have to-"

"No, no it's alright. It's just that I haven't exactly _seen_ my mother in 17 years…" He said with a small shrug. He truly did missed her but was too ashamed to mend the bridge. He wasn't even sure if she would forgive him for what he had done.

"Well, I hope everything turns out okay." She said, giving Nick the courage to give an appreciative smile. They spent an unknown length of time just gazing into each other's eyes in the silence. But that was soon interrupted from a notification sound on Judy's end of the call.

"Shoot! That's them. Well, good luck and see you tomorrow! Bye!" At that, the call ended with Nick staring at the frozen screen.

Sighing for the final time tonight, he plugged in the phone and laid down.

 _If tomorrow is going to be as bad as she said it would be, then I'm going to need some rest._ He mentally thought. Turning his head towards the carrot pen one last time, he closed his eyes and mentally prepared himself for the day ahead.

* * *

 **Alright! Well, now that I got everything all set in place, we can start to have a little fun with these characters! Hehe**

 **Anyways, thank you for taking your time to read my newest chapter! It would be much much much appreciated if you could give me some feedback of my latest chapter. I want to see what you guys think so far!**

 **Also, in my first chapter, I promised 5k-7k word chapters but this chapter isn't that much because I didn't want to bore you with all the little details, I just wanted to get everything setup and introduce the other characters. The only character I've given a clear detail on so far would be Bella, but I gave some hints on the other recruit's personalities. :)**

 **But be prepared for next chapter for some clear conflict. If you liked this chapter and the previous one, please follow and favorite for more! And if you have time, please leave a review and tell me what you've thought so far.**

 **That's it for now! Until next time!**


	3. New Challenges

**.**

 **Yay! The third chapter to 'Doors of Change' is finally here. Thank you so much to those who followed and/or favorited my story already! The number of followers doubled since the last chapter already. Also, big thanks to MrAndersIversen and Foxlover91 for leaving a review. I'm glad you guys are liking my ideas and story plot so far. Sorry if it's a bit slow at the start but it's only going to get tougher from here on out.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter: New Challenges**

* * *

 _Beep Beep Beep_

Nick lifted his head up slowly, opening his heavy eyelids to stare at the digital alarm clock. Slowly, he brought a paw up and slammed it down on the plastic rectangle on top of the clock, stopping the annoying noise.

With a sigh, the fox began to sit up from the bed. From what he knew, today would be all about testing the recruit's limits. Nick wasn't looking forward to it but knew it had to be done. But what he was most afraid of, was those environmental courses in the back. He'd never been informed on such courses from the Internet or from Judy. That scared him, for he was not prepared for such courses.

After ten minutes of time, Nick mustered enough courage to leave the comfort of own bed. With a quick change from nightgear to PT clothes, he was prepared to leave. But he still had one more thing to bring.

Turning to the direction of the dresser, Nick reached out a paw and grabbed the carrot pen from the top and lifted it closer to his eyes. After a few minutes of staring, he finally clicked the plastic button on the side, rewinding the recorded message.

' _You can do it, I know it.'_

"I won't let you down Judy." Nick swore, and pocketed the orange object inside the gym shorts. With one last look around the room, he opened the door and left.

It was only 5:52 at the time, so he had enough time to search for caffeine before the others woke up.

He headed towards the direction of the mess hall, hoping to find the liquid life in there. His efforts were soon rewarded with the sight of a coffee machine in the far corner of the room. He would've missed it, if it weren't for a rather large elephant leaning against the counter next to the device.

"Morning ma'am," Nick greeted, catching the attention of the instructor.

"Wilde," she responded with a polite nod while proceeding to pour a cup of the black liquid. She then handed the cup off to the smaller animal.

"Thanks," Nick replied then proceeded to sip the styrofoam cup and immediately regretting it. The temperature of the coffee was higher than he was used to but quickly found out that it was a good way to wake yourself up.

"Do you guys usually like having coffee this hot?" Nick asked while he took another sip from the cup, this time being more careful with the temperature.

"Easiest way to wake yourself up. You'll get used to it after awhile." She said, chuckling at the cautious fox before her. Nick only responded with a nod in agreement. "Why you up so early? you still got 5 minutes before 0600."

"Oh… I would normally get up at 0500 so I can go out for a jog with a friend but I wasn't sure if that was allowed. Besides, something tells me I'm going to need all the energy I can get for today." Nick concluded, as he emptied the last of the coffee in his mouth, oblivious to the surprised face staring at him.

"The running track is open at all times if you feel like it, it's just behind the staff's quarters. And good choice on saving energy, I won't go easy on you guys today." She said, looking past Nick towards the door.

He followed her gaze to notice other recruits entering, who walked in a very zombie-like trance.

"Don't look too excited everyone!" Nick piped with a yawn. The other recruits just grunted in response.

"Where's Crown?" the instructor asked, looking around for a certain bull.

"I thought he'd be here already." answered Ryan, but quickly added 'ma'am' to the end of his sentence after receiving a cold face from the instructor.

The mammals in the room made use of their spare time, waking themselves up with beverages of coffee, tea, and cold water.

Not a few minutes later, Jason came calmly walking into the room.

"You're late." The instructor stated.

"Sorry ma'am. Hard to fall asleep with shorty here talking to his girlfriend all night." He shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal while pointing an accusing finger towards Nick's direction.

Nick thought it was a lie. He probably overslept and just saw it easier to push the blame onto someone else. It took him a minute to realize that the someone else was him, causing him to tense up immediately.

 _Girlfriend?_ The single word repeated in his mind like wildfire, causing him to blush. He was about to correct the bull but the instructors stern voice cut off his chance.

"No excuses! Because of your carelessness, I want _all_ of you to give me five laps around the courtyard! Consider it a warm-up." The instructor scolded, causing a collection of groans.

"But-"

"NOW!" The volume alone was enough to get the recruits to drop everything and run out the door.

"Nice going _Jason…_ " a couple of recruits sneered as they began their first lap.

Thanks to Judy, the task was simple for Nick, who quickly took the lead, followed closely by Ryan. After he completed his second lap, he grew closer to Bella, who struggled to keep her balance. Once Nick got close enough, he slowed down to her pace, allowing the other recruits to pass by him easily.

"Save some oxygen for the rest of us." Nick chuckled before continuing. "Try finding a rhythmic breathing pattern, it helps a lot." Nick suggested, starting up conversation with the exhausted sheep.

"Thanks," she said while attempting to control her breathing. After a lap, she found a comfortable breathing pattern and finally looked over towards the fox, who still jogged by her side.

"You don't have to… *puff* stay with me… *puff* you know." Bella suggested because she felt guilty of her slow pace while watching other recruits pass by.

"Nah, I want to Fluff. Besides, it's nice to help someone out." Nick said without hesitation.

"But why?" She said disbelievingly.

"Because I'd want help if I was having a hard time." He shrugged, but he continued the rest of the sentence in his mind. _It's also what Judy would do._

"So who were you talking with last night?" She asked.

"Her name's Judy. Too much energy for her own good." Nick chuckled.

"Lucky girl." She commented, causing Nick to quickly rotate his head over towards Bella.

"Huh?"

"Your girlfriend, lucky her." She said, turning her head to look at Nick, observing how his face transformed from the look of confusion to complete shock.

"Woah! She's not my girlfriend... Besides, she's a bunny." Nick said glumly, avoiding Bella's eyes.

"Oh! Sorry… What's her name again?" She asked as she attempted to keep the conversation going.

"Judy. Judy Hopps."

At the mention of her name, Bella stumbled a little but caught herself just before she was about to hit the ground. She looked over at Nick with wide eyes towards Nick's concerned face. Before Bella had a chance to comment, a tail swatted Nick in the face, causing him to stumble backwards and before hitting the ground.

"Watch where you're going, _fox!_ " Jason called out, sneering the last word like venom. Bella quickly helped Nick back to his feet and then proceeded to brush off the dirt.

"Thanks."

"That guy is a jerk." She stated, glaring holes into the distant bull.

"Don't worry about him, he's just-" he started to say but was interrupted by the instructor's stern voice.

"WILDE! Did I tell you to stop? Get that tail moving!" She called out, startling the idly standing animals. Following her orders, both mammals continued on their jog in silence. Nick thoughts were mostly occupied by the sheep. He replayed their conversation in his head over and over, trying to figure out if he might've offended her somehow. He opened his muzzle a couple of times to ask but quickly closed it after looking at her shocked face.

Ahead of the duo, stood the group of recruits and the instructor, waiting impatiently. "Did I ask you to take your time? When I say give me laps, you RUN! Do you understand me?" The elephant yelled.

"Yes ma'am!" Replied the duo in unison.

"Good. Now, to start of the day, I'd like to review a few things." She said, gesturing for the cadets to gather around. "We all know Zootopia has 12 unique ecosystems within it's city limits. Each and everyone of you flea bags will have to master all of them! Back behind this building," gesturing her trunk towards the main building, "has a training course for those environments. For the next two months, you will be running those courses. If you cannot complete at least one of them by the end of the next two months, you've FAILED!" She said, stomping her large foot on the ground as she said the last word.

"Now, for today, we will be focusing on the main ecosystems; Tundratown, Sahara Square, Rainforest District and Little Rodentia. Tomorrow, we will be focusing on the Nocturnal District, Meadowlands, the Burrows, and the Docks! Finally, you will be working on the Mountains, Swamplands, Outback Island, and last but certainly not least, Savanna Central." She concluded, standing up from her sitting position. "You will go through all the courses and work on the ones you need improvement on if you want to pass!" She yelled and began to walk over towards the main building.

Everyone looked at each other, wondering if they should follow or wait for further instructions, but before a decision could be made, the instructor called out to them. "Let's go recruits!" Quickly, everyone hurried behind the elephant as she lead them through the main building, towards the back door. Once Nick was through, he was able to see the courses. One specifically caught his eye. This one featured an intimidating block of ice, sitting in a snowy platform.

Nick looked back at the other recruits, whose attention was also fixated the wall of ice. The instructor's booming voice brought the mammals out of their trance. "Since you all like the ice wall so much, we'll start there. EVERYONE, stand behind the yellow line!" She said, pointing her trunk towards the platform. Upon closer inspection, Nick saw a yellow line which marked the beginning of the platform.

"I really don't want to become a foxsicle." Nick skeptically said while swiping his foot across the yellow line, removing the built up frost that covered it.

"I'd be happy to let you set this one out." She offered while crossing her arms.

"Nice try but you can't get rid of me that easy." Nick said, shooting her with his finger guns while giving her a wink.

"When I blow this whistle, I want you all over that wall as quickly as you can!" She commanded, now ignoring the fox.

Echo, the arctic wolf quickly voiced his complaint. "Aren't you going to teach us how first?!"

"I believe in learning on the job." She replied without hesitation. After a dark laugh, she blew the whistle.

Nick quickly raced as fast as he could towards the ice wall, but soon realized that the floor itself was also made of ice as well as he slid across the floor. Using his claws and padded feet, he gained enough traction to keep his balance and continue on forward. When he focused on the sounds coming from behind him, he heard a collective set of curses from those who weren't so lucky.

Once he was close enough to the ice wall, he noticed a large trench that was filled with ice cold water.

He did _not_ want to fall in there.

As soon as he thought he was close enough, he jumped in the air, using his momentum to rocket onto the ice walls with his claws outstretched. Hitting the ice with an _umpf,_ Nick quickly dug his claws into the wall in an attempt to stay up. After sliding down a few feet, his tail almost touching the water, he finally stopped and began to crawl upwards.

It didn't take him long before he reached the top. Due to being a red fox, a species native to the cold climate, he didn't have much trouble throughout the entire course. Sadly, the other recruits didn't seem to share his luck.

"Looking good from up here!" Nick teased the others.

Looking down, he noticed both Bella and Kenya attempting to leave the icy water, constantly shaking from the cold. The Carson twins were both struggling to keep a grip onto the wall, often using the other as leverage. Jason and Ryan stood at the front of the wall, arguing with each other as they discussed a strategy together. Max on the other paw, seemed to have gotten the hang of the course, as he ran at a full sprint towards the wall, jumping upwards with all his strength once close enough. Using his hoof, he pivoted around the ice wall like someone would when jumping over a fence, and landed on the other side in one swift motion.

"Good job Hero! Wilde, work on your time! The rest of you, get your tail back over here and start again!" The instructor commanded, getting a groan out of the cadets. For the next hour and a half, the recruits repeatedly attempted to climb over the ice wall but little progress was made. The only real visible progress came from the Carson twins, as they clawed their way to the top after 30 minutes of constant struggling.

The instructor gave them all a quick break so the cadets could catch their breaths. Nick's paws hurt from frostbite and predicted the other's felt the same way. Especially for Bella and Kenya, whose fur was soaked in cold water.

After the elephant thought they were ready to proceed, she led them to the next course. This course consisted of a wide sandpit with three turbo fans at the end, next to a set of heaters. "Your task is simple, make it to the other side." She claimed, turning on the fans and heaters to their maximum settings.

Nick and the other mammals nervously waited at the yellow line for the instructors green light. They didn't have to wait long before she blew the whistle.

The fox quickly sprinted into the sandpit but hadn't gotten far because his foot sunk into the sand. While attempting to free himself, sand constantly bombarded his eyes, causing him to lift up his paw up to shield his eyes from the particles. After a few seconds which felt like an eternity for Nick, he finally freed his feet but soon discovered a new problem.

While trying to move forward, he constantly got tugged from behind by the hot wind catching his long bushy tail. He tucked his tail into his free paw to stop this and continued forward. After a few minutes of torture, he reached the end and looked up. Standing there above him was all other recruits, including the instructor staring at him with disgust or pity.

"So nice of you to join us bushy tail. But I'd appreciate it if you didn't waste my class time." The instructor complained, signaling everyone to start again with a wave of her trunk.

* * *

The next couple of hours were used by the cadets in an attempt to master the course. But in the end, Wilde always came last. They now all relocated to the mess hall, enjoying lunch. Though Nick didn't seem to enjoy it due to the tons of sand stuffed beneath his fur. He tried shaking like he would with water but that did little to help.

He soon gave up and chowed down on lunch, which appeared to be the same spitball as last time.

Mid-bite, Bella came over and sat down at his table. Once comfy, she looked down at her plate and poked at the blob with a disgusted face.

"Sorry." Said Nick as he was the first one to break their silence.

"For what?" She asked, confused on what exactly he was sorry about.

"If I offended you this morning, I didn't mean to." Nick said with a shrug, a little relief came to him knowing that she wasn't upset at him.

"Oh! No, I wasn't upset at you. I was just shocked, that's all." She said, chuckling at the misunderstanding.

"That's good, but shocked how?" Nick grew uneasy at the statement, hoping it wasn't typical speciest remark towards him being friends with a bunny.

"I know Judy too." She claimed, watching the poor fox struggle to keep his drink in his mouth.

After regaining composure, he spoke. "You do?"

"Yea, she was the one who stood up towards the bully at the fair."

"Now that you mention it, that does sound just like Judy. Always jumping into situations without thinking." Chuckled Nick, thinking back to his time with Mr. Big.

"How is she? I haven't spoken to her since she left the Burrows." She asked curiously.

"Well, she did become a big city cop. She's currently assigned to Precinct 1, and doing just fine." Nick said, thinking back at what she must be doing right now. _She probably was rapping up that case Buffalo-butt gave her by now._ Nick thought with a smirk.

"Well, I guess her influence caused two mammals to join the academy." She concluded, both laughing at the situation.

"Has anyone seen my water bottle?" A voice called out, causing both fox and sheep's attention to change. They looked over towards where it came from to see Luna, the arctic wolf searching around for a missing container.

"You probably misplaced it, _again_. Here, just use mine." Her brother said, as he tossed his over toward her.

Zoning out, Nick thought much of the days ahead of him. He may only had gone through 4 hours of training but he already wanted to snuggle back into the comfort of his own bed. All the sand built up in his fur felt like lead, constantly weighing him down. His limbs were sore from pushing against the wind and stiff from staying in one place for long periods of time. Thanks to the break, he recovered a bit, allowing him to move without much pain crawling up his spine. Bella's voice soon broke Nick from his thoughts.

"We should get going soon. I don't want to be late." She said, grabbing her tray and jumping off the high chair. Nick soon followed suit and headed out into the courtyard.

* * *

Oh, how much everyone regretted waking up now. The recruits lay panting on the green grass of the courtyard after spending the last 4 hours on the courses made to represent challenges faced in the Rainforest district and Little Rodentia. From constantly swinging from bar to bar, falling face first into the mud, and from being sprayed on by freezing cold water, it was safe to say that everyone was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest. But the instructor had other plans.

After washing themselves down from all the mud, she lead them towards a miniature model of various boxes and tubes meant to represent buildings and transport pipes. The cadets had to crawl under all the tubes, weave through boxes and jump over bridges, all while going at a full speed sprint to the other end of the course. The instructor laughed the whole time witnessing the poor animals trip and fall across the platform. Nick swore that she was enjoying their pain.

Since the buildings and tubes were made completely out of metal, no damage was caused to the course, but instead to the recruits feet. Each and every recruit, including the small fox and sheep, stubbed their poor toes so many times that they lost count on buildings. A couple of poor souls tripped and fell, landing on their tails, which was an extremely painful process. Nick was one of these souls.

If that wasn't enough, they spent the remainder of the time doing various workouts. These ranged from push-ups to crunches, to sit-ups, further hurting Nick's overworked muscles. But Nick was once again torn from his thoughts by a very amused elephant.

"There's no rest for the wicked! Get your lazy tails up and run me 5 laps around this courtyard! After that, you're all dismissed." She commanded.

Obediently, the cadets slowly trudged up from their spots at the promise of rest but quickly hurried when the instructor yelled at them to go faster.

Once the task was completed, no one spoke a word to each other as everyone separated into their respective rooms after a quick shower.

Nick's wet tail now dragged across the wooden floor as he made his way over towards his room. After he closed the door and sat the carrot pen next to the clock, he flopped down on the bed, hoping to relax. That was of course when his phone decided to ring. He lifted his head up to the clock and saw that it was already 10:00pm.

Very sloppy-like, Nick pulled his phone from the charger and answered the incoming call.

"Pizza Delivery Service, how may I take your order?" Nick responded, trying to mask his fatigue.

"God Nick, you look like a zombie." Judy laughed as Nick mimicked a zombie moan. After recovering from her laughing fit, she continued the conversation. "Didn't take it easy on you guys I take it?"

"That's an understatement. She practically made us waste energy right before we even began the courses. Then she rushed us into the courses without teaching a single thing!" Nick complained, finally having a chance to let loose some steam.

"Warned you." She sang, taunting Nick. Instead of getting angry, he simply rolled his eyes and rolled over so his back was on the bed this time instead of his belly.

"And I still got 59 days of this stuff... " he mumbled, not looking forward to the other 8 courses.

"It's always the hardest for the first week, but you'll get used to it." Judy pipped with her usual optimistic voice.

"I don't think I want to…" Nick complained with a sigh but agreed with a nod none the less. But he didn't want to think of that right now, for he was more curious on how she was doing.

"So, how'd the case go?" He asked, immediately regretting as he saw Judy's face turn from amusement to shame. Her big ears flopped down over her face as she face-planted onto the desk moaning.

"Nothing… I got nowhere. No leads, no evidence, no witnesses. I'm stuck in a dead end with nothing to go on." She complained as she lifted her head to face Nick's concerned face.

"Well you clearly don't have this fox's help there with you, that's the reason why." Nick mused, pointing a paw towards his aching chest as he tried to cheer up the grumpy bunny. His effort were rewarded with a giggle from Judy.

"Hurry up and graduate then, dumb fox." She said, getting a smile from Nick.

They both sat there in a comfortable silence, just enjoying each others company after a hard day. Nick thought about how the other recruits fared compared to him. Luckily, he wasn't the worst one out of the group. That title belonged to Bella.

Thinking about the black sheep, Nick quickly remembered what Bella told him about having history with Judy. "Carrots, I just remembered something. Do you know someone by the name of 'Bella Cotton'?" Nick asked, carefully studying Judy's lavender eyes for information.

"Yea, that name does ring a bell, why?" She asked, suspiciously lowering her eyebrows at Nick.

"She's one of the recruits here at the academy." Nick answered, lowering his ears at the volume of Judy's voice which came after.

"BELLA?!" She shouted.

"Shhh! Quiet down! There's other cadets trying to sleep over here." Nick whispered, hoping that they didn't disturb anyone.

"Sorry! I just didn't expect her to want to be a police officer... " She trailed off, "I think she wanted to become an astronaut if I remember correctly."

"Astronaut, really? Huh, well Fluffy said she joined the academy to stand up to bullies like you did with that one at the fair." Nick commented, observing Judy's paw subconsciously caress her left cheek.

"What is it with you and fluffy fur?" Judy chuckled, remembering how he was with her fur and Bellweather's wool.

"Don't judge me. I like what I like." Nick said nonchalantly. "Anyways, I better head off to sleep. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow…"

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Good night Nick, and tell Bella I said 'hi'!" She finished, careful of her volume this time.

"Will do Carrots. Night." Nick said, this time him being the one to end the call. He sat his phone down on top of the dresser and looked at the clock. Nick now debated on whether or not he should set the alarm back 30 minutes to allow him enough time for a jog in the mornings. He knew he was going to regret it, but did it anyways at the thought of it helping him be more prepared for the mornings.

The moment Nick had been waiting for finally came, as he shut his eyes and rested his exhausted body.

* * *

Nick was NOT happy. Completing all the courses now seemed like an impossible task. Not only had he failed half of the courses, but Jason's constant pestering annoyed him beyond control. The only courses Nick seemed to complete were the Ice wall (Tundratown), thanks to his species; cave crawling (Nocturnal District), thanks to his night vision and claws; and the alleyway course (Savannah Central), thanks to his previous life of living on the streets.

Only a month had gone by from him being at the academy but he already felt compelled to quit. The only things making him stay was Judy's encouragement, the bright orange object in his pocket, and the chance to prove Jason wrong.

The bull had been constantly attempting to belittle Nick. The first few times just bounced right off of him as he simply laughing it off but in his current foul mood, the bull was starting to drive him mad. Not to mention Jason's actions of sabatoshing Nick's workout with his tail or foot, which tripped him most of the time.

And to top it all off, Judy wasn't her usual optimistic self. Every night she complained about how little she was doing on her case, working long hours on stakeouts with little to no results.

Nick decided that it was about time to start trying something new. Thanks to the instructor, the cadets were given a week of much needed rest. But Nick wasn't planning on doing that. Currently, Nick walked in route towards the staff lounge, hoping to talk with the instructor.

After reaching the door, he gave it three consecutive knocks, each one getting louder than the last. Nick only had to wait a few seconds before the large door was answered by a polar bear.

"What do you need cadet?" She asked robotically.

"I'd like to speak with Instructor Longhorn, ma'am." Nick answered respectfully.

"AURIELIA! There's a fox wanting to speak with you." She shouted, temporarily stunning the fox at the sudden change in volume. The polar bear left the door and allowed the elephant to exit.

"Thanks Ursula. What is it Wilde?" She asked somewhat annoyed after thanking the polar bear.

"I'd like to use my free time practicing on the environmental courses. You said that we can't run the courses without a superior's supervision, I'm requesting that ma'am." Nick stated.

The instructor was clearly taken back by the fox's actions. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth fell open, but her expression didn't last long as she quickly recovered her stone face once more. "I'm not exactly doing anything at the moment, so I can come with you. If I deem fit, I can give you full-time access to the courses without supervision ONLY if you follow the rules."

"Please, when do I _not_ follow the rules." Nick deadpanned sarcastically after letting go of the breath he didn't know he was holding and soon followed closely behind the elephant as she headed in the direction of the courses.

"I know you've been probably asked this before but why'd you join the academy?" She asked, starting up a conversation.

"I've always wanted to help others out, even when I was a kit but something happened when I was younger that… _delayed_ me." He said, rubbing his neck nervously.

"I've read up on your file." She stated, causing Nick to quickly swerve to face her with a nervous expression. "Got to say I'm impressed. Ex-con mammal? What caused you to make the sudden change?"

"My friend. She believed in me when no one else would. She never saw me as a fox, but as a mammal with dreams. If it weren't for her, I'd probably still be out on the streets, cheating money off of animals." He said dryly.

"But I promised her I'd be her police partner, that way maybe I could return the favor. I'd also get to help animals out, so it's a win-win scenario." Nick said, this time louder and more serious than before.

"She's a police officer, huh? What's her name?" The instructor asked curiously, probably wondering if she trained her.

"Officer Judy Hopps." Nick said proudly.

"Hopps?" She asked disbelievingly. "That girl had fire in her. Wouldn't stop pestering us about letting her use these courses. No matter how hard she got pushed down…" The instructor trailed off.

"...she always got back up…" Nick finished, stopping in front of the sand pit. He then turned towards the elephant and looked up. "Thank you for doing this, I know I'm using your free time right now but it means a lot. I don't want to let her down." She nodded in agreement and walked over to the control panel, turning on the machine and allowing Nick to torture himself.

"Brave kid…" She said as she watched the determined fox try techniques against the howling wind.

* * *

 **Wohoo! That chapter is now complete. I hope you guys enjoyed and are still entertained by my ideas. I want to do some more things in the story but that is gonna have to wait for chapters 5-9. I've got a lot planned for those chapters and I'm sure you'll like it.**

 **I've also got a few questions for you guys. It's come to my attention that most of my chapters text is dialog. Do you guys like that? Would you guys want me to balance more dialog with description text like I attempted in this chapter or would you like me to continue what I did in the previous chapters?**

 **Another question: I haven't decided yet so maybe you guys could. Do you guys want Bella Cotton to graduate from the academy? I could go either way, making her fail or allowing her to pass. Please leave a review and let me know what you want and what you thought of this chapter! I'd like to hear what you think.**

 **If you want to see more of this story, please follow/favorite and I won't disappoint you! Finally, I know I already went by ⅙ of the time spent at the academy but I'm not planning on ending this story soon, so don't worry. I still have 7 more chapters planned, and if you guys are still enjoying the story, possibly more!**

 **Thank you guys again! I think that's all I have to say for now... Until next time!**

 **Once again, edited by NickelAz, big thanks again!**


	4. Dark Stars

**.**

 **I've got to get these words out of my head or they're going to kill me… I have EVERYTHING for this entire story planned out, step by step. I know what's going to happen AND IT'S KILLING ME. You guys are going to LOVE what I have planned for chapter 8… At least I will. I don't want to spoil it but I've already written what I want use at the end of that chapter, and it gives me the chills when I read it. And the good chills, not the bad ones lol. And when I read it to my brother? He got the chills too! It's a perfect way to end a chapter, now I just have to wait to use it… Not gonna lie, thinking about that chapter distracted me A LOT when writing this chapter. But oh, it was worth it.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy the newest chapter to Doors of Change. Thank you so much to MinscLovesBoo, Foxlover91, and TheNerdSide for giving my story a review and answered my questions. I'm glad you guys are liking things so far. I keep fearing that stuff is going to slow xD. I won't tell you my conclusion on Bella's part but I will tell you that I decided to write chapters based on the contents of the chapter. For instance, if the moment is necessary, there will be heavy dialogue but if I have a chance to go descriptive and if the moment seems right, I'll do it.**

 **Enough from me, lemme give you what you came here for! BUT! Please finishing reading this Author's Note for there is one more thing I'd like to say.**

 **Warning! Contained in this chapter features some dark themes. I do not support what I wrote in any way! It was only meant to get the reader's sympathy towards the story's characters and open the reader's minds on the harsh world of this story's universe.**

 **Oh, and I do feature a cuss word… You have been warned. Enjoy!**

* * *

No one knows everything so there will always be secrets. A secret is like a tool, it's harmless alone but helpful if used correctly. But there are always those who choose to use a secret as a weapon, causing grief and misery to others.

Secrets can also be used as a shield, protecting those from the harsh truth and allowing them to stay happy in moments of sadness. But they can also be a curse…

A curse which can only be cured by spreading the truth, causing pain to others.

There are a few who know this and choose to keep the secret to themselves. By doing this, not only do they protect others from the words which may cause them harm, but they also allow the secret to eat them up with guilt and self-doubt.

These few are the most selfless of them all…

* * *

Nick believed he deserved a break. Every minute of his day he dedicated his time towards the academy. The instructor didn't seem all that happy about having to use her free time to babysit the fox but admired his dedication none the less. The extra effort allowed him to pass each and every course with ease. And as an added bonus? He got to see the shocked face of a very jealous bull.

Currently, the mammals of the academy under the supervision of Instructor Aurelia Longhorn stood behind the yellow line of the Mini-city obstacle course, waiting for the instructor's whistle.

During the first few weeks of training, that whistle seemed like the bane of Nick's existence, always causing him more pain than he cared for. But now, when it was used, it gave Nick a rush of excitement and adrenaline.

Nick looked over at the recruits by his side, observing the hint of determination in everyone's stance. Well, except for a certain bull, who watched the fox intensely. Nick noticed his glare and gave him a two-finger salute before calling out to him.

"Don't stub your hooves too hard big guy!" Nick said with grin. The fox was satisfied with the bull's reaction as he balled his hooves together so Nick returned his attention back towards the course and waited for the whistle.

He didn't have to wait long before the noise of the whistle blew through the air, releasing the adrenaline into Nick's body, giving him a healthy boost of natural energy. Sprinting forward, the fox swiftly maneuvered around and over the various metal boxes scattered around the course, not once touching the cold steel.

Up ahead was the pipe section of the course which approached rapidly. These pipes were typically used by many small rodents in order to quickly relocate from one building to another without the need to cross the street. Sure, they _could_ exit the building and cross the street to get into the next but since the small mammals took so little material to build their homes, adding pipes did nothing to impact the city's budget.

Once the pipes were in Nick's line of view, he ran into a straight street and built up as much speed as he could. Once he was a foot away from smacking head-first into the nearest pipe, he quickly got onto his knees and skid across the concrete street, using his kneepads and momentum to carry him under the pipes without having to slow down.

Once he was out from under the pipes, he got back onto his feet and weaved through the boxes again as he approached the final section of the course; the high bridge. Readying his paws, he ran directly into its direction without hesitation. Once it was within arm's reach, he grasped onto the bridge with both paws and sprang upward, using his arms as the pivoting mechanism to move himself forward with his feet tightly hugging his chest. He soon released his grasp and continued to rocket forward over the bridge.

There was only one final move to make.

Nick rotated his body forward, pulling his chin to his chest and tail over his body in order to anticipate the in-coming ground. Because of this simple move, Nick's whole body rolled forward like a ball upon contact with the ground. He then stretched out his paws and feet, catching the ground with his padded limbs and slid to a stop.

The move was completely unnecessary as he could've easily landed on his feet once over the bridge…

But it definitely didn't look nearly as cool.

"8 seconds! Great job Wilde! I think you just beat Hopp's previous high score!" The instructor congratulated.

"Thank you, thank you!" He replied with a bow, ego dangerously high. "I'll be here all week."

About 15 seconds later, all the other recruits came to a stop at the finish line, some with hurting toes and some without. Jason, who came last, was currently hopping up and down while he held his poor foot that he hit last second on the high bridge. The sight of a full grown bull hopping up and down while cursing clumsily was too much for Nick as he bursted out laughing, followed by the other amused recruits laughs. This caused Jason to stare daggers into Nick as he stopped his actions.

"That's it! I've had it fox!" Jason groaned, stomping over towards Nick.

"Cheer up dude, I'm not the only one who thought it was funny." Snickered Nick, gesturing towards the other recruits struggling to keep their amusement to themselves.

"CROWN! Take a walk." The instructor ordered, stopping the bull in his tracks. After a few tense seconds of staring, both fox and bull refusing to backdown, Jason finally turned away and left.

Not a few seconds later, a burst of laughter coming from the unlikeliest of animals caused everyone to quickly turn their heads around. They were rewarded with the sight of the instructor stopping her foot on the ground in an attempt to stop herself from laughing.

"I've been here a total of 6 years and never have I seen a grown bull hop up and down, complaining about their toe!" She howled, finally recovering.

"I'm proud of you recruits, you've done well. Take the next three days off. That means you too Wilde, I plan on using this time to relax and I don't want to babysit your sorry tail as you sandblast yourself." She addressed the fox.

"And here I thought you liked me." Nick replied, feigning offense by placing a paw on his heart.

She gave him a very unamused expression before turning around and heading out. "I expect you guys to be energised and ready to go by Monday!" She called out, turning a corner and disappearing from sight.

"Well that just happened." Said Echo, approaching behind Nick as he patted him on the back once close enough. "I don't know about you but I'm going to enjoy this moment! Say, I heard there's a fire pit somewhere back here. Why don't we all camp out, get to know each other. We've been here a total of a month and a half and I hardly know any of you." Suggested Echo.

"I think that's the best thing you've said all day." Claimed Luna, his twin sister.

"Make that all week. Seriously, if I have to do anymore push-ups because of your big mouth, I'll drown you in The Docks course myself!" Chuckled Ryan.

"I don't see why you're complaining Snowflake King. Look at the results!" Pipped in Nick, gesturing towards the tiger's arms.

"Ugh… When are you going to stop calling me that Wilde. I was drunk and hot... " Ryan said shamefully, closing his eyes and placing his head in his paws. Everyone had a good laugh at the memory.

"Hey Echo, I think I have a friend who could bring us some snacks if you're still up for that idea. I've been dying to have a nice sandwich instead of a that spitball they call food." Nick offered.

"Yes _please._ " Groaned Bella, "I don't think I can stand another day of that stuff."

"It's settled then, we'll meet up later tonight at the fire pit. I'll bring some wood, Echo and Luna can bring the chairs, and Nick will bring the food!" Planned Ryan, mouth watering at the thought of _real_ food.

"Yea, I think we can do that, see you all tonight?" Luna said, addressing the group.

"As tempting as that offer sounds, I'm going to have to decline. I've got something that I need to do. Maybe next time." Said Maxwell said, finally adding to the conversation.

"No problem big guy, we still got four and a half months here with ya. Plenty of time!" Nick said, trying to keep the positive atmosphere present. The other cadets simply nodded their heads in agreement.

"Thanks guys. Really sorry about." Max said.

"Don't worry about it! You just have to promise you will next time!" Echo said, patting the rhino on the back.

"Sure thing." He nodded.

"Alright, right now I need to make a phone call. I'll see you guys tonight!" Nick said, waving at his fellow recruits as he quickly ran off.

Nick thought much of the past few weeks on his journey to the dorms. After spending a week mastering the various courses by himself under the supervision of the instructor, completing the courses was easy. He beat many of Judy's previous records, including her record of running the Little-city in 10 seconds. But there was one record he couldn't seem to pass.

Even with Nick's species benefit, he still couldn't manage to beat the Ice Wall in under 5 seconds. He often asked Judy how she did it but she would never tell him. Thinking of the bunny brought a smile to his face.

She seemed to be finally doing better on her mystery case. After an exhausting night, Judy called like she did every night. The only difference from this time compared to the others, was that she was radiating with excitement and her ears were erect. When Nick asked her about it, she shouted at the top of her lungs that she finally caught a lead, almost causing Nick to drop his phone.

Nick recovered quickly and Judy spent the next two minutes apologizing for her volume. The phone call was cut short by a certain bull's complaining. Speaking of Jason, Nick was so deep in his thoughts, he didn't notice the lumbering bull standing at the front of the dorm with his back turned.

"Watch where you're going _fox!_ " Jason sneered after the fox accidentally slammed into the bull's leg.

"Oh, sorry Jason, wasn't watching where I was going." Nick apologized while rubbing his neck.

"I can see that…" Mumbled Jason.

"Hey, uh… Echo was planning a little get together down at the fire pit if you're interested." Nick offered to the bull.

"I've got better things to do." Was all Jason said before pushing past Nick. If it wasn't for the wall Nick was leaning on, he would've fallen.

" _You'll get what's coming to you."_ Nick thought he heard Jason say but later dismissed it for his mind trying to play tricks on him.

Nick just shrugged to nobody in particular and ran off into his own room. Once he was in there, he grabbed his phone off the dresser and scrolled through his contact list. Not long after, he found the animal he wanted to talk to and quickly hit 'dial'.

Three rings later, a deep and gruff voice answered the phone. "Who is it?"

"Hey Fin. It's me, Nick. Listen, I need a favor."

* * *

"So tell me why I'm helpin your sorry ass again?" Finnick said, staring up at the large front gate of the academy.

"Because," Nick began, swishing the pawsicle in his mouth around, "I paid for your lunch, the food we bought, and your gas." Nick pointed out easily.

"I did'n know you'd buy dis much stuff." He grumbled as he carried the bags of food out of the back of his van.

"You have no idea how bad the food here is. Looks about the same as the stuff you bought from Jerry three years ago." Nick taunted the smaller fox.

"Shut up and help m'out with these bags, stupid!" He yelled. Nick just sighed in defeat and helped the fennec fox out. It took quite a bit to convince Finnick to drive him to the store, but in the end, the promise of free food and gas was to much for the cheap fox. At first, the desert fox suggested helping him out with a hustle. Judy would've been proud on how quickly he dismissed that idea.

Now, Nick carried the last of the bags of snacks from the back of Finnick's messy van and thanked the other fox.

"I'm out! Peace!" He shouted, driving away as quickly as he came.

Nick just shook his head and picked up the bags, heading to the fire pit to help set up. The bags didn't seem that heavy in his arms but the pulling of fur from the handles made it just has difficult. Inside the bags were mostly light objects; chips, marshmallows, graham crackers, chocolate, and various fruit and vegetables. He made sure to bring food that he was sure the other recruits would be comfortable eating.

When shopping, he avoided getting anything predator related, as eating meat in front of another prey animal seemed just plain wrong. He also didn't want to make the other recruits uncomfortable during a time of bonding, no matter how good that half-priced salmon sounded.

Rounding the corner, he saw two arctic wolves setting up various sets of chairs of different sizes. Once Nick was close enough, he could hear them arguing with each other over items they lost.

"You're the one who had it last. What would I do with your book collection? Why do you think I have it anyways?"

"You asked to read one of them two days ago! Not to mention, you managed to lose both your water bottle AND mine!" Echo claimed, waving his arms around for no apparent reason.

"I sat them right there! And when I came back they were gone!" She said defensively, placing her paws on her hips.

"Ladies, ladies, please. It's not the end of the world. I'm sure they'll show up eventually." Nick interjected, setting the bags down and brushing down the fur that stood out of place.

"Sorry about that," Luna said, addressing the fox, "Are we all set?"

"Almost. We're just waiting on Ryan to bring the wood." Responded Echo.

"Someone call my name?" Said a familiar voice, catching the attention of the canines. Turning their heads, they were greeted with a tiger whose arms were stuffed with firewood.

"Ey! If it isn't Snowflake King." Nick greeted, drawing a groan from the tiger and a laugh from the twins.

"Nick, seriously, you've got to let that go." Ryan deadpanned.

"Not a chance. Needing any help?" Nick offered, easily noticing the tigers struggles.

"Sure, a friend of mine is parked out front with a couple more logs." He said as he sat the logs next to the pit and walked off into the direction of the front gate while being followed by a fox and two wolves.

Once they were done carrying all the wood, they started the fire and waited for the others, watching the sun set in the distance. Kenya was the first to show up, followed by Bella.

Now they all sat in their respectable chairs, watching the burning flame together.

"Soooo, are we going to awkwardly stare at each other's faces, hoping for someone to spontaneously combust or are we going to begin?" Nick finally said, breaking the silence.

"How about we begin with the snacks. I'm starving!" Echo said while licking his chops.

"Always thinking with your stomach..." Luna said, rolling her eyes in the process.

"Funny, that's what my friend always told me." Nick replied with a chuckle while she then got up and passed out _real_ food to all the cadets at the pit. Nick specifically asked her for the box of blueberries at the bottom of the bag that he may or may not have bought specifically for him.

"God, it's so good finally being able to eat something other than that slob!" Ryan chuckled, getting rapid nods in agreement from others.

"Careful Nick, you'll change from red to blue at that rate." Said Kenya, observing the fox has he stuffed his face in with blueberries.

"Mmhf! Not a chance, I look too good in red. Besides, I haven't a blueberry in _so_ long!" Nick said, examining the blue fruit in his hands before plopping it in his own mouth.

"Anyone know where Jason is?" Ryan asked, looking around.

"I met up with him over at the dorms when I went to make that phone call. He said he had better things to do when I offered him to join us. Seemed really upset." Nick informed them, avoiding eye contact.

"Who needs him anyways? We're here to have some fun!" Echo responded, ignoring the previous topic.

"You're right. For the second time today, what is wrong with you?" Luna said with an exaggerated gasp.

"What? When am I wrong?" Nick raised his paw and opened up his mouth to comment but was interrupted by Echo's white paw. "DON'T answer that."

After everyone calmed down from laughing, Echo started again. "But I was being serious when I said I wanted to get to know you guys more." He stated more seriously.

"Alright, how about we start with why we joined the academy?" Bella suggested to the group.

"Excellent topic! Since you suggested, I think it's only fair if you start first." Ryan agreed, turning the spotlight onto the shy sheep.

"Um… OK, well I decided to join because I want to stand up for those who can't do so themselves." She started, looking down at her lap as she continued to speak.

She waited a few seconds before continuing her story with a much lighter volume. "When I was a kid, I was bullied… It made me feel helpless…" She said. She took a deep breath before finishing. "I joined because I don't want others to feel the same way. I want to be able to stop animals like him." After she finished the last word, she looked up to see the groups reaction.

They responded by giving her a round of applause, followed by whistles.

"That's a noble reason Bella!" Ryan complimented while the others nodded their head in agreement.

"Thank you…" She said bashfully, rubbing her arm.

"See, that wasn't so hard! Who's next?" Said Echo.

"I guess I can." Said the tiger of the group as he adjusted himself in his seat to get more comfortable. "Well I don't have a noble backstory like you Bella but I've always enjoyed helping animals. So when I saw a police officer on TV doing all those crazy things, I knew I was hooked. The added bonus of danger makes things even more interesting." He finished, listening to everyone's applause and cheers, causing a smile to break onto Ryan's face.

"So basicly you joined the force because of a TV show. I hope you know that not everything you see on there is real." Nick chuckled.

"I know that but you too would've been hooked if you would've saw it too." Ryan said, crossing his arms in the process.

"I'm liking the reasons so far! Kenya, what about you? You've been mostly quiet." Echo pointed out. Everyone's eyes were now focused on the lone zebra of the group as she watched in shock. After a few seconds, she finally recovered.

"Well, my story isn't all that great…" she complained.

"Tell us anyways, we've got plenty of time to spare!" Nick encouraged with the nods of others.

"Where do I begin?" She asked, looking up at the stars in the sky. The cadets just let her have time to think while they enjoyed the delicious food. After a few minutes, she lifted her head back up and spoke.

"Well, I guess it started with my brother. He… let's just say he wasn't the best of mammals. When we were young, he would constantly bully other animals for fun. I don't know what caused him to do it but he always got in trouble. He often tried to push the blame onto me…" She said, looking around to see if everyone was still paying attention. The wolf twins were practically on the edge of their seats, as they payed attention very closely.

After confirming they were still listening, she continued. "Well, one day, it got so bad that the police had to get involved. My parents were fighting with me because they found drugs in my room. I felt so… _helpless._ But after a quick investigation from the police, they confirmed that infact my brother was the one using the drugs, not me. He later confessed to hiding his stash in my room as a backup plan." She said with clear hatred in her voice.

"It was at that moment that I realized that I could stop animals like my brother. That I don't have to be the helpless one in the situation." Once she finished, Echo laid his head against his sister's shoulder, trying to hold back his tears. She just acknowledged his presence by patting his back, salty tears rolling down her own eyes.

"Wow… I'm sorry you had to go through all that." Nick said honestly, though the story didn't even compare close to his own messed up childhood.

"You guys alright over there?" Bella asked with concern.

"Hrm? Yeah, yeah… Just brings back memories of the old times, that's all." Luna said quietly while she sniffled and wiped her nose. Echo seemed to have recovered as he finally released from his sister and rubbed his own eyes.

"Well, now that I think we've gotten everyone's attention, I think it's safe to assume that were next." Echo guessed, getting chuckles from the others.

"Should we?" Luna asked her brother with a saddened expression.

"Well, I can't think of any excuses why we joined anyways. Besides, they should know." Echo replied with a sad smile, further confusing the group.

With a deep breath, Echo began, looking towards the group. "At first, we didn't want to be police officers. We were just a happy family going about our day. Luna wanted to become a doctor and I wanted to be a lawyer…" Echo trailed off, unable to finish the rest of the story. Luna sighed and finished it for him.

"But, one day, every-everything went wrong. Some... _thug_ thought it would be fun to rob us…" She continued as her eyes glazed over. "He had us at gunpoint, so there was no-nothing we could _do_ except do what he said. My father gave him eve-everything he wanted… his wallet, my mother's necklace." She said, whispering the next part as she stare at her brother's wrist. "His watch…"

"But it wasn't enough. We had nothing else to give him so instead he decided to take." Echo said, cutting off his sister with his raised voice and eyes burning with hatred. "He took our father away from us! And what happened to gunmammal? He was never seen again! Our father protected us, selfishly taking all the bullets to himself so that we may live. That… MONSTER took away a great mammal who cared nothing more than his family's safety. He caused us so much grief and he never got punished for it!" Echo shouted. The recruits said nothing as they were too dumbfounded at the tragic story.

"We want to become police officers so that way we can put a stop to criminals like him, or criminals in general. They're all the same. Some say they change, but they never do. We never want another family to grieve as much as we have…" Luna finished.

"Father would've been proud." Echo stated, placing a comforting paw on his sister's shoulder. After a minute of recovering, the twins looked back at their fellow recruits and spoke. "So, how'd we do?"

The group's eyes were soaking in salty liquid, while they clapped their paws in applause. All except Nick. For his thoughts were too preoccupied by Luna's previous words.

 _They're all the same. Some say they change but they never do._

Those twelve words replayed over and over in his head. Guilt ate at his heart as he thought about how much trouble he caused for others. He thought he knew everything but he was truly oblivious to the pain he probably caused. All those years of avoiding taxes, when that money could've been used on schools, businesses, and orphans who didn't have homes. He thought he knew the world…

But he was wrong.

His chaotic thoughts were broken by Ryan, slightly startling him, causing him to jump. "You alright Nick? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Nick just nervously laughed and rubbed his neck. "Sorry, lost in my thoughts."

"So?" Luna asked as all eyes were now on Nick.

"Huh?"

"So? Why do you want to become a police officer?" She asked, repeating the same question she asked moments before.

"Oh… My story is nowhere near as special as you guys. I just love helping animals out, always have since I was a kit. Now I can; nothing more, nothing less." Nick finished, putting on a fake but believable smile.

"BORING! There's seriously nothing else? I think Ryan had a more interesting story than yours." Echo said while he waved a paw in the tiger's direction.

"Hey!" Ryan protested but was easily ignored.

"Nope, that's really it." Nick lied with a smirk. His walls were up now, for he wasn't going to risk the chance of information leaking from his loud mouth. The last thing he wanted was to make the Carson's relive their tragic past because of his previous title he used to shine proudly.

"Bahh! No fun! Hey, is that marshmellows? Echo, go find us some sticks!" Ryan said, reaching into a bag to pull out the marshmallows, graham crackers and chocolate.

"Chocolate?" Ryan offered to Nick who avoided touching the sweet.

"NO! Are you crazy?! That stuff could kill me. I bought that stuff for you guys. The store manager thought I was suicidal or something. Canines can't have chocolate, can't digest it." Nick informed the others, patting his belly in the process.

Ryan apologized profoundly beforing ate the chocolate and offering it to the others except to the canines of the group.

The rest of the day went by uneventfully. Although Nick was more than happy to socialize, any further attempts to talk about Nick's reasons for joining were quickly shot down by him, simply dismissing it as wanting to help animals.

They talked, they joked, and they cried. Nick kept his fake smile up the whole time. Once his phone started to ring, he excused himself from the group and wished everyone a good night.

Of course, Judy tried to ask what was wrong, for she could see right through his mask but Nick dodged the questions every time. She eventually gave up and talked about her day, while Nick just listened to her voice, trying to comfort himself. That night, Nick didn't sleep much, for guilt ate at him like a parasite.

He thought he hid his emotions well…

But he was oblivious to Ryan's suspicious eyebrow when he left the fire pit.

* * *

 **I'm so excited! The real action begins next chapter. I finally have everything I built in place, time to rip it all down! Muhahaha!**

 **Anyways, that was this chapter. Sorta a cliffhanger at the end, gives you something to think about. Hehe… I hope you enjoyed this chapter! If you have and you'd like to see more, please follow and/or favorite if you haven't already. I won't disappoint you, for I think you'll like the next chapter. Also, please leave a review for this chapter. I'd love to hear what you guys think!**

 **I hope the sentimental moments didn't seem cheesy. I wrote that late at night and was tired. Plus those moments are hard to write xD**

 **Thank you again to those of you who reviewed and followed between this chapter and the previous one! It means a lot!**

 **Until next time!**

 **Edited once again by NickelAz! Big thanks!**


	5. Tools and Fears

**.**

 **Alright so first, I would like to apologize for the time between this chapter and the last one. This took me longer than before for a number of reasons. One of the reasons is that this is my first story I've ever written. So as I go, I'm learning a lot of new things. For instance, I made a ton of mistakes in my first chapter, which were corrected by NickelAz (THANKS!) but I've seriously improved on how much mistakes I make now compared to then. This whole experience is like an experiment for me. I am constantly wanting to improve. In order to achieve that, I put a lot more time and thought into this chapter compared to the last four. If you pay attention, I widened my vocabulary in this chapter quite a bit.**

 **Another reason was that I was unsure how to begin this chapter. I wrote a previous intro before but quickly erased that. Trust me, it was bad xD**

 **Finally, this is the beginning of many conflicts to come, so I want to make it as enjoyable as possible. I kept asking you guys before how I should write my story; dialogue heavy, description heaven or balanced. That was because I was unsure on how I should write. So if you like what I did in this chapter, please tell me.**

 **QUICK CELEBRATION: 4 Hours after I posted the third chapter, I achieved over 400 views on that day alone. As a result, I reached my first milestone of one thousand viewers. Thank you guys so much!**

 **I seriously need to stop with the long author's notes. I wonder how many of you guys read it lol**

 **ANYWAYS, please enjoy.**

* * *

A gust of wind blew throughout the courtyard, causing each individual blade of wet grass to sway in its presence. The early sun shone out upon the fur of the mammals standing in attention, who currently waited for the instructor's return.

Two months have gone by since the fox, Nicholas Wilde, had joined the police academy. In the beginning, the lone fox was plagued with self-doubt, constantly bringing himself down most days. But after almost being brought to the breaking point, a new flame gave spark and filled the cadet with newfound determination.

He used this new willpower to push himself to his limits and beyond, trying various approaches on the unique ecosystems under the constant supervision of Aurelia Longhorn. But after going to bed with matted fur, scrapes, and many bruises, it was finally time to see if his extra effort had paid off.

The elephant superior witnessed the dramatic change in the fox herself, staying up countless nights in order to make sure 'the machines wouldn't malfunction'. Of course, that was an excuse. She frequently complained to Wilde about using up her free time in order to watch him when she could be doing more productive tasks. But in reality, she enjoyed watching the fox complete every requirement she gave and more that were needed to pass the physical exam of the academy.

She entertained herself during these times by watching the ordinary fox use his species benefits to his advantage in the interest of completing the most impossible of tasks. Once such occurrence was when the tod was trying to master the hills of the Mountain ecosystem. She was mesmerized at the talent the fox demonstrated, who used his tail as an anchor in order to allow his paws access to check the next ledge if it was safe to climb. Once he determined it safe, he released his tail and swiftly swung his claws upwards with incredible flexibility towards the next point, where the process was soon repeated.

If the instructor was honest with herself, she was incredibly impressed. Even the other colleagues of hers voiced out their approvement, commonly asking what she did. The elephant only replied with a shrug, telling them that she did nothing and that it was all the fox's doing. Ursula, the stern polar bear of the staff, made a comment saying Wilde reminded her much of a certain bunny cadet she used to train.

Naturally, at first the elephant assumed the fox at first glance was nothing more than added weight to the group, who would eventually bring the group down. It was her initial plan to break the cadet into quitting by giving him the most unreasonable of tasks. After one month into her plan, the fox finally broke. But instead of quitting, he pushed himself harder than ever before.

It seemed to happen over night, as he changed his ways and became a completely different animal. After that point, she gave up on her previous plan and continued on as she would normally, for no matter what challenge she threw at him, he completed it with flawless results.

Needless to say, Nick had nothing to worry about. He knew he would continue onto the next round of education without any hesitation. _(Shameless unintentional rhyming)_ On the other paw, for the other recruits, it couldn't be told for sure.

Many of the other recruits had their own challenges. The larger animals had trouble with the small obstacles of the Little-city, while prey animals usually had difficulty maneuvering climbing courses without the comfort of claws.

One recruit in particular had the most trouble out of the pack. The solitary sheep of the class struggled with her physical strength, frequently failing at climbing, crawling, and swimming. But like Nick, she never once gave up. Her lack of strength was replaced with her problem solving skills; often using her brain power to quickly create tools and plans in order to assist her, helping her overcome many obstacles.

It goes without saying that this year's recruits were the most interesting of the bunch.

Currently, Nick had whirled his spiky ears around to listen in on the incoming noise of loud _thuds_ which came toward him. All the whilst his head continued to face forward.

"I've got good news and I've got bad news." The instructor announced her presence, intimidating the recruits with such a simple sentence. She paused a few moments before continuing, using the extra time to gaze upon the group. After a few moments longer, she finally looked down and sighed.

"The bad news is not a single one of you furbags failed the physical exam… I've got to train all of you for two more months." She said in defeat, but the cadet's interpreted it as great news. They seemed to be at full attention by standing straight and gazing forward without movement, but on the inside, they were bursting with joy, for they finally passed the physical extremes of the academy. The only sign of their joy was the glimpse of a smile spread naturally on their faces.

"The good news is I'll be enjoying the next part of training!" She announced with an evil smirk, rapidly removing the cadet's grins. "For the next part of the training, I'll be teaching you the basics of self defense. From paw-to-paw combat to using standard issue police gear." She informed.

"For this part of the training, we'll be indoors; more specifically, the gym!" She resumed. A couple of animals in attention drew out a sigh in relief which didn't go unnoticed by the instructor.

"Yes, you will no longer have to train in the rain. But after I'm done with you, you'll be wishing you were back in the mud! Now, I still want you all to continue the daily morning workout. I don't need you all to go soft on me, that'd be a waste of time." The elephant demanded, turning around and heading into the direction of the main building.

With a wave of her trunk, she continued. "Follow me cadets, and I'll show you where we'll be working!"

Obediently, the group shadowed the elephant without question into the large structure. It didn't take long for them to reach the gym. All they had to do was pass behind the old wolf at the office desk and into the once locked doors of the gym.

Nick's eyes trailed the deceptively large surroundings of the unfamiliar gym. He viewed the scattered miscellaneous workout machines and punching bags which lay chaotically around the place. But the size of the machines were too big for Nick's use, as they were all for wolves and above.

Where there wasn't any equipment, there were clearings covered in blue padding. But what stood out most of all, was the large boxing ring at the center of the gym. It was bordered with red ropes and lit by a single bright light from the ceiling.

Nick remembered Judy telling him about this special place. In order to pass, he was required to be able to neutralize a target or hold his ground long enough until the time it would normally take backup to arrive. He still didn't know if he should believe Judy's story about how she took down a rhino in under 10 seconds.

The elephants thunderous voice broke Nick from his thoughts. "You'll all get your time in that ring sooner or later. Don't you worry about that." She chuckled. Nick turned his head to look back at the instructor, but in the process doing so, he saw why the instructor made a comment on the ring.

Everyone's attention was focused on the ring in the middle also.

"But before we have some fun in there, I am required to show you techniques in order to help you sedate a target." She said, leading the group towards a clearing in the gym, covered in the blue padding.

"Gather around cadets. This is police training 101." She announced, amusing the recruits slightly. "This next section of training is very important! There are lots of different animals who live in Zootopia! It is your job to understand how to contain them and learn how to apply the correct amount of force in the process." She informed, walking back and forth on the blue mat.

"For instance, if you use too much force on a smaller mammal, you could cause serious injury. But if you put too little, they can escape easily. Now, I'm going to need a to use one of you fleabags as an example." Now she stopped and decisively chose a recruit. Once she came to a decision, she voiced the cadet's last name out.

"Phanex! Front and center!" She ordered. The tiger in question hesitated but got up none the less. The only complaint he voiced was a soft groan. After the recruit stood next to the elephant, she continued.

"When taking out an opponent, you need to find their weak points, and use it against them." The instructor enlightened. What she did next startled the recruits and caused the poor tiger to yelp in pain. The elephant in question swiftly pushed the tiger's legs out from underneath him while she gripped his tail in order to get him onto his back. Next, she grabbed his left arm and firmly held it behind his back while using her trunk to control the other arm. As a finishing touch, the instructor moved her legs into place with one swift motion. As a result, the tiger couldn't move due to the heavy weight of the elephant's knee leaning against Ryan; not enough to hurt, but enough to get him to stop squirming.

"Wouldn't it be simpler to just shoot them with a tranquilizer gun?" Nick asked curiously.

"What happens when you - for some reason - don't have your gun on you? Or you need to reload?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, effectively shutting up the fox.

"Woah! Alright I give, I give!" Ryan shouted comically, attempting to free himself. The instructor eventually released him after letting him struggle a little longer. The tiger grumbled under his breath darkly before returning to the side of his fellow cadets.

"That is the technique I'd like to teach you of the next couple of months. Along with defending your upper body during paw-to-paw combat. I will also want you all to show me how you would normally defend yourself, since not all techniques work on the same species. But that will come tomorrow!" She announced.

"I'd like to spend the next few moments of today's lessons reviewing the necessary tools required on a police officer's belt! After that, we will break for lunch and return back to training in self defense. Maybe if we have time, I'll throw a couple of you in that ring." She taunted, pointing her trunk towards the ring.

"Everyone, sit down. We're going to be here awhile." She claimed while she walked away from the stationary group and towards a red storage locker up that leaned against the nearby wall. While she took out her keys from her pocket and unlocked the locker, she called out to the cadets. "Now, can anyone tell me these items are?"

"That would be a tranquilizer or taser, baton, pawcuffs, flashlight, and a muzzle ma'am!" Bella immediately responded. The instructor turned around to face the cadets with a case in her trunk while she nodded in approval.

"Correct! Very good Cotton." She said, sitting down herself in front of the group but looked over at the fox questionably because of his constant uneasy shifting.

"Now," She continued, opening the case to reveal those five items. "A flashlight is an important tool for every officer of the law. You could be having trouble seeing, or need to quickly distract an opponent, this is the tool you'd want to use." She said wielding the item. The raised paw of Echo interrupted the instructor's lesson. "Yes Carson, I'm aware that all predators here have night vision… BUT does that sense allow you to see in color?" She questioned.

Effectively answering his question without him voicing a single word, Echo lowered his hand slowly and shook his head.

She handed off the flashlight to the nearest cadet to inspect and pass around, who happened to be Nick. The object was large compared to him so he had to use both paws to hold it steady. The instructor continued onto the next item as Nick passed it over towards Kenya, who sat beside him.

"These are standard issue pawcuffs. Every officer is given a universal key to unlock them so it's important that you don't lose them. These can adjust to the size of some of the smallest mammals to the largest. But understand this, you cannot use these on rodents as they are too small and you might injure them in the process!" She lectured before tossing the set of cuffs towards the fox once again. Compared to the flashlight, the pair of cuffs were more reasonable to hold. They felt deceptively light for the fox, almost plastic like. After a few moments of inspecting, he passed it onto the zebra once again and continued to listen.

"Next, we have-" was all Nick heard before the world seemed to stop. The only sounds which he heard were the sounds of his own heartbeat, which quickened in pace.

He knew it was coming and he tried to prepare himself as best as he could for when it did. But it was in vain. His frightened emerald eyes eyed the metallic tool in the elephant's trunk. One word was all that was needed to call it.

Muzzle.

The harsh memories of the day at the ranger scout's came back light lightning. He remembered the way it was plastered on his face, how helpless and muted he felt, and the look of joy and amusement on his 'friends' face. Nick instinctively reached a paw towards his own muzzle and rubbed, as if he could still feel its presence there.

 _Do you ever think we'd trust a fox without a muzzle?_

 _Is he gonna cry?_

Out of the farthest reaches of his mind, the lone sentences of the other scouts voiced out. He didn't even realize his eyes began to gloss over.

He was brought back to the present when the instructor held out the muzzle for Nick to take and inspect. Naturally and instinctively, Nick jumped back with a yelp, avoiding all contact with the device.

This action caused the elephant to retract her foot back with a concerned face. "Wilde?" She called out but Nick never heard, eyes never leaving the device. His own breaths began to quicken as his vision began to blur into darkness.

"WILDE!" She shouted, finally seizing the fox's attention. "Are you alright?" She asked shockingly lightly. Nick would've found it amusing for he normally would have thought someone else was talking after all of the time hearing her loud and gruff voice, if it weren't for his current situation.

Realizing his rough breaths, he tried to calm himself down, placing a paw on his chest as if expecting his heart to fly out. The other recruits just curiously stared at him, except Jason, who seemed to be enjoying the situation immensely.

The room was now filled with nothing but the noise of Nick's heavy panting. After a few moments, he seemed to have calmed down enough to talk.

"I- I need some air…" He voiced dryly, attempting to stand without waiting for the instructor's approval. In the attempt, he almost hit the ground as his knees buckled underneath him but caught himself and calmly walked out the door the door without looking back.

After minutes which seemed like hours, he eventually came to a stop next to a tree. He used his paw to support himself from falling down but it was no use, as he fell down anyways.

 _Never let them see that they get to you…_ He told himself repeatedly. The approach seemed to work slightly as he was able to get his breathing under control. A few moments later, he finally controlled his thoughts.

 _Why did I freak out like that! I knew it was coming, yet I still ran away with my tail tucked between my legs…_ He scolded himself, slamming a fist into the dirt below him.

He was so concentrated on his thoughts, he didn't hear the snapping of twigs behind him.

"Wilde?" a voice called out, startling Nick again before he turned to face the figure with fangs bared.

"Relax, it's just me." The zebra, Kenya, said reassuringly.

Realizing there was no danger, he quickly lowered his lips and looked to the ground as he mumbled an apology.

"It's alright, but are you okay?" She asked as she sat in front of the fox with concerned amber eyes. When she realized that he wasn't going to respond, she decided on a different approach.

"You know, you're faster than you look. I lost you there for a good minute." She chuckled, drawing a light smile out of the fox, still avoiding her gaze. She saw it as an invitation to continue. "Funny, it looked as if you were running from the cops. Well, technically you were." She mused, getting a light chuckle out of Nick.

They just sat there in silence, listening to the wind rustle the nearby leaves. Having Kenya in his presence seemed to calm him down even more as it felt comforting to know someone was there for him if he needed them. Subconsciously, the thoughts of Judy came to mind, and what she must think of the situation.

"Soooo, are you going to tell me what happened back there? I know you don't want to talk about it but it'll make you feel better if you get things off your chest." She said, jabbing a hoof in the direction of the academy.

"Thanks for the offer but-"

"That and the instructor wants to know. Whatever happened, she doesn't want to repeat it." She interrupted again, somewhat irritating Nick.

He gave her offer some thought. Sooner or later he would have to return back to the lumbering elephant and confront her about his reasons. Given the situation, it might be easier for him to explain his reasonings out in the calm environment than the tense glare of the instructor. Maybe, if he could convince her, Kenya could explain to the instructor instead.

"If I tell you… Wou-would you mind telling the instructor for me if she asks? I… I don't think I'd be able to…" He asked, finally looking up at the zebra questionably.

"I think I can do that…" She agreed with a nod.

"Only the instructor, no one else." He voiced sternly.

"Of course, you can trust me." She said gently, beckoning him to explain. "And take your time, I'm in no rush to get back."

"Thanks… me neither." They chuckled. Nick looked up at the swaying trees above as he thought of where he should begin and what should he tell. Kenya seemed like an trustworthy animal, not someone who would go blab about another's dark secrets. He saw no point in lying to her so decided to lay his cards out on the table.

"Well…" He finally said, closing his eyes and crossing his arms behind his back while resting against the trees. His ears stood in attention, listening to the movement of the trees fight against the forces of the wind. "Remember when we were all having a great time at the fire pit?" Nick asked, peeking an eye open to see her response.

She nodded in response, closely paying attention to Nick's voice and body language. "Well, when we were telling our stories about why we joined the academy… I- I lied." He said shamefully. "There's more to my story…" He sighed, keeping his eyes closed, purposefully avoiding Kenya's stare.

"It's not as sad as the Carson's but… it changed me." He said, bring his head down to his chest. "When I was young, I had a dream of joining the Ranger Scouts. I thought it was perfect!" He exclaimed loudly, opening his eyes and waving his paws around while still avoiding her face. "I got the chance to help animals, make friends, and allow my mom to have some free time without my enthusiastic self getting in the way." Nick chuckled, letting gravity take hold of his paws.

He continued with a heavy sigh. "When I got there… I was suppose to deliver some great oath that was intended on making me one of them… But... when I finished, they laughed at me, told me that I couldn't be trusted and then muzzled me." He stated glumly, closing his eyes while he remembered each and every detail with clarity.

"Now, everytime I see a muzzle I… I freak out… I freeze…" he said with another defeating sigh. "I can't even think straight if I'm in the same room as it." He concluded, eventually looking up to view Kenya's reaction.

He looked at her with curiosity, tilting his head to the side slightly at the sight of the zebra's eyes being enlarged as big as saucers. He'd been so caught up onto explaining the story, he failed to notice her change in body language.

She eventually recovered by quietly asking a question. "Did… did you say, 'Ranger Scouts?'" She asked, which the fox nodded slowly. M-may I ask which pack you were in?" She asked nervously.

"Uh, sure. It was pack 914 if I remember correctly." Nick answered questionably, witnessing the zebra seem about ready to faint. The fox now seemed very self-conscious about himself, finally noticing his uncontrollable tail flicker back and forth but was unable to stop it. "Is… there something- wrong with that?" He asked carefully.

"No no no no…" She said quickly causing the fox to let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. "It's just that… my brother…" she continued, speaking in a softer tone than before, "...was in that pack."

When she finished her sentence, she had Nick's full attention as he straightened himself out, fully turning his body in the direction of Kenya.

"Remember how I said I hated my brother?" Nick just nodded in response at her anxious tone. "Well… one day he came home bragging how he and his friends crushed some fox's dreams during 'initiation'... I still can't believe how proud he was when he said that to me that day." She said while she shook her head in disbelief before locking eye contact with the fox. "I'm _so sorry_ you had to deal with that… I didn't realize that was you. I wish I could've changed things…" She trailed off but the fox in question laughed instead. Kenya eyed the fox with confusion, curious to know what was so funny.

"Well, I don't. If one thing were to change, I would've probably never met my best friend; Judy Hopps." He stated with a smile.

Now that they had a chance to, they noticed the light in the sky seemed to have darken more than before, making it hard to see the fine details on the nearby trees. The only noise that filtered through the animal's ears was the breeze of the cold wind.

"You don't have to answer this but… You said you changed because of that _incident._ How?" She asked curiously while playing with her hooves.

"Well, they wanted a sly and untrustworthy fox, that's what I gave them. I lived my life like that way for 21 years. That was until Judy came along and set me back onto the right side of the law." Nick answered easily but after replaying his words in his head, his eyes widened and he quickly rotated towards Kenya, startling her a bit.

"Don't tell the Carson's."

That was all she needed to understand his sudden change in behavior. "Don't worry, your secret is safe with me." She said honestly.

After that, no other word was spoken between each other, for no more words were needed. They just stayed seated in the nearby forest until it became too dark out. Even then, they wordlessly got up and headed back in the route towards the academy.

Nick was the first one to break the silence as they finally reached the two separate dorms on academy grounds.

"Thank you…" The fox said sincerely.

"For what?"

"You were right. Talking about it did make me feel better." He commented with a chuckle, which Kenya returned.

"Anytime Wilde. Good night." She concluded.

"Night Stripes." Nick said with a sly smirk.

"Ugh! What is it with you and the nicknames?" She asked herself with a smile. They both then began to walk their separate ways into the direction of their respective dorms.

"Don't judge me." Nick shouted out to her, finishing off the conversation before he entered his own building.

While walking over towards his own room, he thought about how chaotic the week had been.

First, they were plagued with physical demanding tests without break. Not to mention the invisible barrier between the two canines of the cadets, which Nick set in place after learning about the Carson's history. That and he would be spending the next months of training purposefully beat up his fellow cadets.

To add to the chaos, Jason seemed unnaturally passive in regards to the fox; no longer pestering the fox during daily workouts with his annoying tail. And to sum it all up, he had a panic attack in the middle of a class in front of his other cadets.

Yep, one crazy day afterall.

Soon, the red fox found himself in front of his own room. Now all that was left for him was to sleep it all off and wake up as if it never happened.

Reluctantly, he opened the door and stepped inside the cold room. Once he closed the door, shuffled over towards the dresser, disposing of the carrot pen from his pocket and his shirt onto the floor before turning his body towards the awaiting bed.

But there was something that the fox did not expect. Something that made him yelp and jump in surprise. Something that would give him nightmares for the next few days.

There was a metal object sitting dead center on top of his bed. This object was a muzzle.

* * *

 **Of course I can't give poor Nick a break, that's too boring. Anyways, thank you all for reading my newest chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed.**

 **Special thanks to Keithv2735, MrAndersIversen, Foxlover91, and foxy cop for giving my story a review! I'm really glad you are liking it so far and I will continue. If you have any questions, please ask.**

 **I'd also much appreciate it if others would voice out their honest opinions on my story so far! It encourages me to continue a lot and tells me what I should continue and what I need improvement on.**

 **For those who haven't already, please follow/favorite to see more of the story. As I said before, I have a lot planned. I'm sorry for leaving you guys off with a sorta-cliffhanger but I didn't know how else to end the chapter :P**

 **Anyways, thank you again for your support!**

 **P.S. I may or may not have a lot of rhyming sentences in this chapter, don't judge :3**

 **Guess who edited this chapter? Yup, NickelAz again :)**


	6. True Colors

**.**

 **Hey! I've almost reached 2k viewers already (1700 views)… And my last milestone was 1k… Thank you guys so much. I'm glad that a lot of you are enjoying the story so far. I say thank you too much though lol Let me get it out of my system.**

 **But seriously, I thank all of the 43 followers and 25 favorites I've gotten so far. It's awesome waking up in the morning and see your email flood with new notifications of new reviews, followers, and favorites for the story.**

 **Thank you to Foxlover91 for giving my latest chapter a review. I wish more of you guys did too though. But before I go, I'd like to give a HUGE shoutout to** _ **ice of darkness**_ **for supplying me with many ideas for future chapters for this story if I continue. That fact will be decided by you guys.**

 **Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy my latest chapter: True Colors! Enjoy!**

* * *

"WILDE! You're up," shouted the instructor.

With a deep breath, Nick stepped into the ring towards the awaiting bull in the center. Currently, the fox was outfitted with small sparring gloves with a matching helmet for his own protection, as was his opponent.

 _How in the world can I beat this guy? He's practically ten times my size!_ Nick thought negatively. He just shook off the thoughts and began to search his rival for any sign of openings or weakness.

"Go on my mark! Ready…" She ordered.

"WAIT!" Shouted Jason, spitting out his mouth guard in the process.

"What is it Crown?" She aggravatedly asked, giving a stone cold unamused look into the bull's direction.

What happened next confused the fox. The bull turned his back towards the fox and mouthed words to the instructor, who nodded understandingly. Once Jason was done, the instructor departed from the light for a few seconds. When she emerged, she seemed to have something wrapped tightly in her trunk.

Nick eyed the duo in confusion as Jason held out his awaiting hooves to retrieve the item. Not long after the item was dropped into his hooves and was welcomed back into the light. Nick tensed up immediately as he easily recognized the item.

"Don't think I'd trust a fox without a muzzle, eh? You could bite and that wouldn't be fair." Jason darkly chuckled before he approached the fox slowly.

Nick wanted nothing more than to run away, but he couldn't move. His own legs wouldn't respond to his command as Jason slowly got closer.

Just before Jason was within arm's reach of him, he finally got ahold of his senses and easily jumped over the red ropes of the ring and onto the ground. He wasted no time and headed straight for the door but didn't last long as he tripped over an orange tail.

"Woops! Should watch what I'm doing with that thing. Hey! Aren't you supposed to be fighting Jason in the ring right now? This'll be fun!" Ryan claimed, walking over to the fallen fox before picking him up and slugging him over his shoulders.

"Put me down!" Nick practically screamed while slowly squirming himself free from the tiger's grip.

"What's a matter? You gonna cry?" He asked teasingly before chucking the fox back into the ring. Before he had a chance to recover his stolen breath, Jason towered over him before quickly attaching the muzzle.

"Much better, what do you guys think?" He asked to the figures behind him. Nick gasped as they both stepped into the light.

"I think it looks perfect, just what he deserves." Said Luna Carson, followed by a nod from her brother.

"Finally found a way to shut that mouth of yours." Echo laughed darkly, followed by the others laughter.

Nick just eyed his supposed 'friends' as they laughed at his condition. His mouth would've hanged open if it weren't for the cold steel bars holding his mouth in place. Making quick decision, he used the situation as a distraction and ran straight out the door without resistance.

He didn't know where he would run to, so he just ran as fast as he could away from the academy. _Why?_ Was all that spoke in his head, wondering why would they just attack him against his will like that. A soothing voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Nick..." Was all it said, but was enough to get the fox to stop in his tracks. He'd know that voice anywhere.

"Carrots?" Nick mumbled through the muzzle, quickly turning around to view the bunny.

"Oh Nick…" She said with sympathetic eyes.

"Judy!" He cried in relief, changing direction and running full speed toward her.

"Why'd you quit?" She continued quietly, looking away from the fox. The fox slowed down a bit in confusion, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"We could've been great partners…" She sniffled, walking away from the fox.

"No, wait Judy!" Nick shouted as best as he could before he ran as fast has he could toward the bunny, but it was no use as the more he ran, the farther she got away.

"NO!" Nick shouted as the bunny disappeared from view, but Nick didn't stop running. "Come back! Come back, come back…" He weeped.

What felt like hours later, something in the distance caught his eye. _Please be Judy, please be Judy…_ he prayed to himself over and over. Once close enough, his nose caught wind of the scent of the object, and his prayers were answered.

Instantly, a wake of relief hit him. Nick's thoughts introduced themselves as he thought of what he could say to her. He then concluded that he had nothing to say, he just wanted to be there for Judy and comfort her, even if he was the one who needed it most. He just couldn't stand the sight of his best friend crying because of him. As he got closer, he finally saw the bunny.

The sight made his stomach drop.

Judy's body lay on the cold hard ground; motionless. A pool of blood surrounded her, as her red stained paws clutched her side weakly.

"JUDY!" Nick wailed before dropping onto his knees next to the fallen bunny. He then picked her up with his shaking paws and shook her. "Wake up, Judy. Wake up!"

Slowly, she eventually opened up her eyelids weakly. The sight of the fox caring made her smile. "Nick…" She said feebly, lifting a paw up to rub Nick's soft face.

"I'm here Carrots, don't worry…" Nick reassured her.

"You weren't there…" She sobbed, slightly confusing Nick. "You weren't there to protect me like you promised." She finished, dropping her paw down before closing her eyes.

"Judy?" He choked, salty tears forming in his emerald eyes.

"No no no no… Judy wake up… Wake up! Come on, please!" He sobbed at her lifeless body.

"Wake up! JUDY! WAKE UP!"

* * *

"NOOOOOO!" Nick screamed as he quickly lifted himself from his bed. Cold sweat fell from his paws and onto the bedsheets while he struggled to breath correctly. His surroundings finally adjusted into view with the help of his night vision, reintroducing him into the safe environment.

 _I'm in my room?_ He questioned, remembering the events of the nightmare vividly. The first thing he did, was bring his padded paw towards his muzzle and checked for iron bars. After a few seconds of thorough checking, he sighed in relief.

 _It was just a dream…_ He comforted himself before looking back at the digital clock on the dresser.

 _4:12_ He read, _No point on trying to fall back asleep now…_ He concluded before removing himself from his bed, heading straight for the window.

He then opened the window and welcomed the fresh morning air breeze against his bare chest. He just stood there for awhile, not wanting any thought to cross his mind and just enjoyed the morning air.

After awhile, the thoughts of the dream slowly crept back up on him, causing him to shake his head wildly. When the images wouldn't leave, he made a snap decision.

Swiftly changing into his gym clothes and grabbing the carrot pen from the dresser, he rushed out the door right after he shut off his 5 o'clock alarm from going off.

His one and only thought was to head straight to the public running track around the back of the staff building and run. So that's exactly what he did. After a few laps, he was able to clear his head and think logically about the situation.

He came to the conclusion that the dream was triggered from the events of yesterday. The muzzle he found lying on his bed didn't help. After calming himself down last night, he lifted up the device carefully and opened his window. He then threw it out as far as he could into the courtyard before he closed the window.

After purifying the room of its foul presence, he removed his shirt and fell upon the bed, welcoming the much needed rest. He'd been so determined on forgetting everything that happened, he forgot to wait for the call from Judy.

The sudden thought caused the fox to stumble slightly during his jog but recovered and trudged on before making a mental note to give her an apologetic text.

"Judy…" Nick mumbled, the clearest part of the dream coming to light, slowing down the fox slightly. "I watched her die right in front of me… I wonder what she would think if I told her about it." He questioned his thoughts.

 _She'd probably try to comfort you and tell you that wasn't her talking._ It replied.

"Sounds like her, but what if that came true?" He thought darkly.

 _It hasn't and it won't. You'll never quit, you have a promise to keep and a bet to win._ He could practically feel his voice smirking at the thought.

"And I won't ever let her down…" He agreed before picking up his original pace in his jog.

A gust of wind blew across Nick's form, drawing his attention to his surroundings of the morning. It was still very dark out but faint signs of light could be seen in the distant horizon. There was a strong, yet gentle wind roaming the morning sky. Naturally, all the trees of the forest swayed in rhythm with the wind.

Nick closed his eyes and breathed in the morning air deeply. Of course, he was cut short by the all too familiar voice of the instructor.

"Thought I'd find you out here." She chuckled, approaching the fox as he slowed down, eventually stopping.

"Morning ma'am." Nick greeted respectfully, before he began to walk towards the elephant himself. "Listen, uh, about yesterday-" Nick began while he rubbed his neck but was cut off by the instructor.

"You don't need to apologize for what happened, I just need to know what caused such a reaction so I could prevent it from happening again." She gently said.

"Right… I-I have a severe merinthophobia." He stated plainly, void of any emotion. "It's the fear of being bound… More specifically, muzzles…"

"I see." She nodded understandingly. "That explains why you freaked out when I tried to give you the muzzle." She said, connecting the dots.

"You know, when you first showed up here, I didn't have a single shred of faith in you. Now, I have no doubt that you won't pass." She said with a heavy sigh, looking up at the few stars still out in the sky.

"But, in order for you to pass, I need you to be able to work with the tool…" She said sympathetically before clarifying. "You don't have to like using them, I just need to know that you can use it properly when needed."

Nick groaned loudly before glumly whispering his reply to the instructor. "I-I can try… I don't know if it I can though."

The elephant just snorted while looking at Nick as if he grew two extra heads. "Please, you survived the entire Night Howler case without a single scratch, put up with Jason's shenanigans and beat half of Hopp's old academy records."

Nick looked at her with a stunned expression. "You…" he began and the elephant nodded in response.

"Yea, I read about the whole Night Howler case. You'd be surprised on how detailed that bunny was." She laughed, getting a light chuckle and a small smirk from the fox.

"I'll do my best." Nick said seriously with a nod.

"You better, I'd hate to flunk you because of a silly phobia. Now c'mon, I need some coffee." She said, inviting him to follow her towards the cafeteria.

He couldn't say no to coffee.

* * *

"Phanex, Hero; you're up first. Cotton and Blake, get ready. You both will be going next." The instructor shouted over her clipboard before looking up and watching the tiger and rhino enter the sparring arena.

Bella and Kenya nodded to the instructor as they tightened their training gear gloves.

Shortly after the elephant and fox entered the cafeteria in hopes of gaining coffee, the other recruits came stumbling in and the day began as normal. After their daily exercises, the instructor ordered the recruits to meet up in the gym to begin the sparring matches to test everyone's knowledge.

Nick wasn't looking forward to this at all. Usually on the streets if he got himself into a bad situation, he would easily talk his way out of the situations so he never had a reason to really defend himself before. But there was no way he could do so now, so he strapped on the headgear and waited for his turn.

In the meantime, he wanted to observe the other fights in hopes of being able to copy a good move he might see on his own opponent.

With the approval from the instructor, the match began.

They spent the first ten seconds circling each other in the ring, waiting for the other to make the first move. Ryan was the first one to lose his patience as he ran toward the rhino with his fist. Max dodged his fist with surprisingly high speed and quickly landed his own blow on the back of the tiger's head, dazing him slightly. After recovering, he snarled and put his guard up once again. The tiger was once again the one to make the first move as he charged at his opponent and swung his fist wildly at Hero.

To counter his attack, Max backed up slowly while keeping his fists up, blocking the majority of the blows. Occasionally, Ryan's fists strayed lower, landing a few blows in his side. He slowed down his attack until he eventually stopped completely.

Seeing the opportunity, Ryan threw a power punch in the tiger's direction but missed barely as he anticipated his weakness and jumped back as soon as he stopped throwing punches.

"TIME! Hero! Good defence but work on your offense." The coach ordered before turning to the other occupant of the ring. "Phanex, work on your control. Those punches were sloppy." They both nodded in response and left the ring, heading to the punching bags.

"Blake! Cotton! Get your furry tails in the ring." She commanded, tapping a foot in impatience.

Reluctantly, they both entered the arena and waited for the instructor's green. Once the whistle blew, the match ended as quickly as it started as Bella was slammed into the corner of the arena with a swift punch from the zebra. "Cotton! Use your size to your advantage and dodge blows, you can't take them." The instructor suggested while Bella clumsily stood up.

Listening to her advise, round two began and they began to fight each other once more. The difference this time, not a single punch was landed on one another as both of them dodged any attempt to hit one another. They both tried to corner one another but all efforts made were shut down.

"TIME! Both of you need to work on finding an opening and using it. Practice quicker punches while you're at it too." She commanded as they stepped out of the arena.

"Wilde, Crown; you're next!" She announced.

 _Great…_ Nick thought, _Bella gets to fight someone more her size, same with Ryan and Max. But with my luck, I get the biggest guy here._ He mentally complained but didn't voice it. As ordered, he put his mouthpiece in his muzzle and jumped into the ring with the bull.

He eyed his opponent carefully, observing if he had a slight vulnerability in his guard. With such an indepth look, the scene before him reminded him much of his nightmare, causing his breaths to quicken and hands to lower slightly.

The instructor's whistle broke him from his thoughts and he just as quickly regained control and regarded himself. Not long after the whistle was blown, Jason came charging at Nick with full force. Nick swiftly rolled between his legs and grabbed his tail which helped stabilize himself and hoped it would catch his foe's balance off.

He was rewarded with Jason ever-so slightly stumbling backwards. Using this to his advantage, he quickly threw a couple of jabs into the bull's knees before jumping back. Jason recovered finally and turned back around in order to face his opponent.

With a growl, Jason threw a power punch which Nick dodged gracefully. Looking into the bull's eyes, Nick noticed it change, narrowing slightly before a smirk grew on his face.

Jason then threw his left fist widely towards Nick's right side, which the fox just jumped to the side a little to avoid the punch. This was clearly the wrong move to make as Jason switched from using his left fist to his right and repeated the process, directly slamming into Nick's side.

Nick's mouthpiece flew out of his mouth alone with his breath as he was slammed into the nearby ropes. His vision blurred slightly before he took a deep breath. Pain shot through his body as he clearly hadn't fully recovered from the blow. He quickly removed a glove and put his paw on his side where he'd been hit at. He then took shallow breaths to help regain his senses.

"Crown! Good job on reading his fighting pattern, but next time control your strength. Remember what I told you all about managing your strength against smaller opponents?" The instructor asked as she climbed into the arena and helped Nick to his feet.

"Smaller animals have more fragile bodies. You have to use the correct amount of force when fighting them; if you use too much, you could seriously injure them but if you use too little, they can easily recover and escape." Jason said dryly before yawning.

"Correct! Now go practice on the punching bags." She ordered as she helped Nick exit the arena and sit down on the nearest bench. "Carsons! You're next, get those white tails in this arena." She yelled, grabbing out an ice pack from the cooler underneath the bench and gave it to the fox, who accepted gracefully.

* * *

Nick sat down at his usual spot in the mess hall and began to eat his food, observing the other recruits follow suit. His eyes lingered on the Carsons, whose usual white fur now was slightly covered in red dabs. Watching their fight together was truly fascinating. Everything seemed like a blur, as both went full force in their fight. After the fight was over, they hugged each other and laughed at both of their 'battle wounds'.

Now, they sat chatting about random topics together as they ate their nutritious slob. He turned his head towards Kenya, who addressed the other cadets.

"Does anyone know what happened to my bag? I left it in here this morning but now it's gone." She questioned, looking around and under various tables for the missing bag.

"Haven't seen it. What's it look like?" Replied Max, stepping out to help search for it.

"It's a normal gym bag, dark blue." Kenya responded with a frustrated groan.

After a bit of searching, they both determined that it was no longer here. "Huh, I must've misplaced it. I could've brought it inside the gym with me." She concluded with a shrug, giving up and sat back down to finish her meal.

"Oooohhh, guys listen to this!" Ryan chuckled in amusement as he stare at his phone. "'Criminal turned cop' It's a new article posted by the news." Ryan excitingly said, looking up at the wolves. "Says they're still in training!"

Echo snorted, "They're stupid for letting someone like that join the force. Probably only in it for the title."

"I wonder who it is…" Asked Kenya while she tapped the end of her muzzle in thought.

"Probably some other recruit from another instructor." Luna responded dryly, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms in the process.

"Well, lets see here… After his assistance in the Night Howler case, ZPD chief of police _personally_ recommended the new recruit to the police academy to begin training right away." He read away on his phone.

"Ha! Probably slowed the case down more than anything. Probably bribed the poor chief." Echo assumed with a fake laugh.

"Hold on! There's a name." Ryan said as he skimmed down the text until he stopped suddenly. His eyes grew wide and he looked up towards the awaiting wolves.

After hearing 'Night Howler', Nick's attention was quickly torn from his food and he payed close attention to the tiger's words. As Ryan continued to speak, Nick's breathing became erratic and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat, tail quickly swinging from side to side in irritation.

He felt relieved that they didn't know who it was but felt the color drain from his face when Ryan mentioned a name. Nick's change in behavior didn't go unnoticed by Bella, who sat adjacent from the fox.

"Nicholas Wilde" Ryan finally finished, slowly turning his head to the nervous fox who waved awkwardly to the group before he returned his attention to the food on his tray.

Now all eyes were on Nick, staring at him in shock and wonder. Finally, Nick heard the screeching of a chair and the padded steps of footprints coming in his direction. After a few agonizing seconds, the sound came to a stop and the fox closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, opened his eyes and looked up to the figure of Echo looking at him cautiously.

"Is it true?" Nick just bleakly nodded his head, avoiding eye contact with the wolf. Echo snorted in disgust and betrayal.

"Unbelievable." Nick's ears fell flat against his head. "It's animals like you who make police needed." Echo continued, followed by Luna's own disapproving voice.

"What poor animals did you wrong?"

For a long moment, they just sat in a thick and uncomfortable silence. Nick finally sighed and whispered his response. "I conned animals out of money."

"Course you did, just another _fox_. And here I thought you might've been normal like the rest of us." Luna spat before turning around and giving him the cold shoulder. Echo followed suit, trailing back over to his seat.

Nick was about to get up and leave the once comfortable room if it wasn't for the new arival of a certain bull.

"Guys, you wouldn't believe what I just found." He said excitingly.

"What is it?" Luna snapped at the heavily panting bull.

"I found everyone's missing stuff! You guys said you're missing your water jugs and books. I think I heard Ryan about his missing guitar, and Kenya talking about her missing necklace. Well, I found it all!" His words drew the attention of everyone in the room as he showcased the various items in his hooves to the occupants in the room.

Both wolves ran to the items which now scattered the cafeteria floor, followed by Ryan and Kenya.

"Where did you find them?" Kenya asked as she grabbed her dark blue gym bag from the pile, along with a small black box.

"That's the good part." He stated with a chuckle, drawing a couple raised eyebrows from the other cadets. "It was in Wilde's closet."

After everyone was informed, the attention was once again thrown onto the fox of the group. Nick just eyed Jason with confusion and disbelief.

"What?" He said taken back. "I didn't take your stuff! What would I have to gain with a couple of water bottles, books, and someone's stinking gym clothes? Why were you in my room in the first place?!" Nick denied firmly as he crossed his arms.

"I had my suspicions." That was the only response he needed to get the group to believe his statement. Nick stumbled back at the response, flabbergasted that the group could believe such an outrageous claim.

Before anyone could react, the ever so familiar voice of the instructor echoed throughout the room. "WHAT IS GOING ON IN HERE?"

Jason spoke without his eye contact leaving the fox once. "Wilde here has been stealing from everyone." He stated with a smirk.

"And how do you know that?" She questioned, looking at the fox in question. Nick looked back at her speechlessly. He couldn't believe what was happening.

"I found their items in Nick's room." He explained confidently.

"That doesn't mean he stole them… Someone could've easily planted those stuff there." She snorted as she stated the facts, not believing any of the accusations.

"But-" Jason tried to convince but the instructor interrupted him quickly.

"No! I'm not going to make assumptions. I'll look into the matter to find out who exactly is the thief. Until then, I expect ALL of you to work on your form! Keep in mind that we'll be learning about laws after we're finished with self-defense. I expect _all_ of you to know the police codes by then. Understood?" She lectured the group.

"Yes ma'am," a couple of cadets responded.

"I said... UNDERSTOOD?" She shouted, expecting a response from everybody. She wasn't disappointed as everyone's voice was synchronized in response.

"Yes ma'am!"

"Good. In the meantime: Wilde, will you come with me?" She asked, tugging her head in the direction of the exit. Nick nodded and shadowed the elephant out of the room and into the courtyard.

The instructor occasionally gave a curious glance toward the glum fox, who found his feet somehow more fascinating than the peaceful surroundings. They came to a stop in the middle of the green grass. The elephant was the first one to break the silence.

"Is it true?" It was the second time he heard those same agonizing three words in one hour. The fox quickly jerked his head upwards to the elephant who studied him very carefully.

"No." Nick denied honestly.

"Alright, I believe you." She claimed, looking away from Nick and to the flying flags of the sky.

Nick just looked at her quietly, he didn't even have to explain himself to her and she already believed him. "Wait what? Why?" He lightly asked cautiously.

"Simple…" She began, still looking up at the flags, "You have too much to lose. The news is already closely watching you. Your name would be permanently ruined if you failed. Not to mention, you don't let your bunny friend down." She finished easily.

Nick stared at her in awe. _How did she figure that out so easily? Have I become that readable?_ Nick thought.

"I keep up with the recent news, especially if it has anything to do with the ZPD. And don't think I never noticed that carrot pen you have in your pocket." She answered his unspoken questions while she gestured towards his right pocket. Nick looked down towards his pocket and pulled out the carrot pen.

"Anyways, don't worry about anyone's opinions for now. I'll find out who really did this." She said confidently before walking over to the staff building and entered as she slammed the door behind her.

Nick looked down at the pen in his paws before stuffing it back in his pockets. He was about to head back over to the gym if it wasn't for a voice that called out to him.

"Nick." Max greeted neutrally, causing Nick to look up at the approaching rhino.

"Max." Nodded Nick equally neutral. After a few seconds, he realized Bella was also here. "Bella." He added, acknowledging the sheep's presence.

"Nick." She responded lightly.

"You probably want to be left alone after what happened in there," Max began, pointing in the direction of the mess hall, "but I just want to say I don't hold your past against you. Others might but I don't see a point to do so." Max chuckled, his words catching the fox off guard. After everything that happened in the hour alone, he kept his face visibly neutral, not wanting to risk anything.

"This doesn't mean I don't exclude you from being the possible thief though. It could be anyone and I'm not eliminating any possible suspects." He said seriously.

Nick just nodded understandingly. They exchanged goodbyes and Max left the other mammals, heading into the gym. Now, the fox and sheep were the only ones who stood outside. They sat there for a few moments in a deep silence.

"I just want to say… I believe you." Bella finally broke the silence with her light voice. Nick just raised an eyebrow but nodded thankfully.

"Thank you, now enough with all this sappy stuff, we got some training to do." He finally said.

"Sounds good. Let's go." Bella said with a friendly smile, waving her hand in the direction of the gym. Nick smiled back and they both headed to the gym together.

* * *

Nick plopped down on his bed with a _thud._ Nick was officially emotionally and physically exhausted. He spent the remainder of the day inside the gym, shoving his anger out onto the nearest punching bag. In his rage, he accidentally made his knuckles bleed, which causes pain to shoot up his hands every time he moved the small limbs.

He couldn't believe how quickly today turned out. First, he suffered a terribly vivid nightmare, which still haunted him now. Then he was told by the instructor that he can't pass unless he could work properly with muzzles. To make it worse, the majority of the other cadets now hate him for knowing his past. To finish it all off, someone wants him to be kicked out of the academy.

There was only one thing that could make this day seem bearable. His wish was soon granted as his phone began to silently vibrate on top of his dresser. He smirked, _Right on time, as always._ He thought as he reached over to the phone and unplugged it from the charger.

He then clicked the green answer button and was greeted with a smiling bunny.

"Hey!" She greeted.

"Nope, sorry. I don't believe I sell any hay. Maybe you have the wrong number." Nick said falsely apologetic as he pretended to go for the end call button.

"Awww, c'mon… Are you really going to end the call?" She asked with her big amethyst eyes. She wiggled her nose in extra effort.

"Why are you bunnies so-" Nick chuckled but was cut off by a fuming bunny.

"NICK! Don't you dare say the word I think you were going to say." She said sternly.

"I was going to say adorable. But that word works too." Nick responded with a wink.

"Ugh! Why are you so intolerable?" She rhetorically asked herself grumpily, but the smile that shone on her face easily betrayed his true emotions.

"So, how was your day?" Nick asked the inevitable question he always asks her every night.

"I _FINALLY_ found a lead! After all the paperwork gets sorted out, we're going to raid a warehouse and stop those drug deals for good. Chief said it would take around a week for that though." She answered confidently. Nick gasped at her response before putting a paw to his mouth in an attempt to stop himself from laughing.

"What?" She asked questionably, causing Nick to burst out into uncontrollable laughter.

"I do believe you Officer willingly released confidential information to a civilian." Nick responded after he recovered from his laughing fit. Nick smirked wildly at the camera, watching Judy's reaction carefully.

He almost dropped his phone laughing at her embarrassed face. She quickly brought a paw up to her mouth and dropped her ears in embarrassment. Her eyes widened in realization before she closed her eyes and slammed her head down on her desk.

Priceless.

"Shut up." She grumbled as best as she could as beat her head against the desk.

"Never." Nick teased.

"Ugh! Why do I even try?" She asked herself before changing the subject. "So, how about you? How's your day been?" She questioned.

Nick's ears slightly lowered at the question and his smirk faltered a little but he kept his mask as tight as he could.

"Not good I take it?" She questioned carefully, hoping to get him to open up.

"Let's just say I had a very rough day…" Nick concluded.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She asked hopefully. Nick sighed in response before shaking his head from side to side.

"Not now, I just want to sleep it all away right now." He responded but noticed the look of disappointment in her eyes, diminishing her once previously happy mood. He quickly added "But I'll tell you later. Promise." Nick told her with a genuine smile.

She nodded and they changed the subject once again to various other topics. After it got close to the usual time of her parents calling, they both said their goodnights and ended the call.

With a sigh, Nick set the phone back onto the charger and laid down back on his bed. He then reached a paw over towards the alarm clock and turned the alarm back on before laying down in the pillows. The orange color of the pen caught his eyes one last time as he grabbed it from the dresser and closed his eyes one last time before he fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

 **Yay! That chapter was fun to make. Who knew messing with Nick would be so…** _ **FUN.**_ **Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Please follow/favorite if you want more!**

 **Also, I strongly suggest you leave a review. It's sad that only one person, Foxlover91 was the only one to do so. I want to hear your opinions of the story so far! It is also a strong motivator to continue the story for you guys!**

 **Also, I think I brought up everyone's personalities now… Wait no, there's still two more little plot twists I have planned (evil smirk) You'll have to wait and see what else I have planned… *Innocent smile***

 **Well anyways, that's all I have to say for now, thank you guys** _ **so**_ **much again!**

 **Until next time!**

 **As usual, edited by NickelAz!**


	7. Redemption

**.**

 **FINALLY! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I'VE WANTED TO WRITE CHAPTER 8! And now… It's time. I have no idea why it is fascinating to write it. Maybe it's because of what experiences Nick faces in that chapter. Maybe it's because of the thrilling paragraph I already wrote to use at the end… Or maybe it's because it's the beginning of a long voyage for a special ship.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoy this new chapter called Redemption… Is that too straight forward of a name? Meh, I think you know what I plan on doing this chapter.**

 **I also have a question for you guys. If I were to continue the story, would you like to see:**

 **\- The story from Judy's perspective? See how she is faring?**

 **\- Continue on from Nick's graduation and the many adventures of Nicholas Wilde and Judy Hopps?**

 **Please leave a review and tell me what path you wish me to take! Anyways, that's all I have to say for now, so please enjoy this chapter. I took my time writing this one so I hope the results are an improvement from the other chapters! Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Beep Beep Beep_

Nick groaned at the sound of the annoying 5 o'clock alarm which disturbed his beauty rest. Slowly, Nick opened his eyelids to the darkness of his room. The only visible light noticeable was the shine of the full moon from outside and the red glow of the alarm clock's digital display.

He then slid his paw across the sheets of the bed towards the audible clock at the end of the dresser. A small _click_ noise signalled the end of the device's signal. A new sound now made presence in the room; the soft sounds of the fragile water droplets hitting the side of his window.

Nick wanted nothing more than to just lay in bed for the rest of the day. He would've too if it wasn't for the loud _thrash_ of the thunder coming from the clouds above him, rattling the bedroom windows. With a sigh, he sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, not yet ready to leave the warm blankets. Slowly, his mind soon began to sluggishly reactivate. The memories of the plaguing events from last week reemerged to his drained body.

The fox closed his eyes and groaned, slamming his head onto his paws. He then gripped his head in an attempt to comfort the beating headache he was suffering, only succeeding in making the feeling amplify in strength. _Why can't my life be normal?_ He asked, hoping for an answer. Of course, he was met with nothing but the exterior sounds of rain falling from the sky.

He looked to the window, as he watched the raindrops glisten off the moon's light. _No point in going out for a jog now, but I'll have to sooner or later. Ms Tusks loves her morning workouts._ Nick chuckled, looking around the room for a task to occupy his thoughts. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the orange pen laying on the sheets where he slept. He then reached out and grabbed the writing utensil and pressed the side to make sure he didn't disturb the audio file in his sleep.

' _You can do it, I know it.'_ Judy's voice echoed throughout the room. _Good, would've been embarrassing to wake up hearing my recorded snores._ Nick snickered before setting the pen back onto its respective resting place. He then proceeded to take his phone off its charger and unlock it.

A smile spread across his muzzle as the screen displayed him and his favorite bunny surprise hugging him from behind as she snuck into his selfie. It was one of his favorite pictures they took together, probably his most favorite out of all his photos in general. _I wonder if Carrots is awake already…_

Tapping away at the screen, Nick proceeded to send a message over to Judy's phone to test his theory.

 **Nick:** _Hey Fluff, just wanted to wish you good luck on that lead of yours. What was it? Drug raid I think?_

With a nod in approval, he sent the message before switching over to Furbook, checking his account as he waited for a reply. During his search, particular post caught his eye. It was a picture posted by Judy of a group of five officers, including herself. ' _To serve and protect'_ read its description. The group of officers smiled brightly into the camera as they saluted. Nick's focus darted downward to a specific officer with long grey ears of the group.. If Nick were to judge, he would easily award Judy's beaming smile first place compared to the other animals of the picture.

The vibration of the phone shook him from his trance. It was a message from Judy.

 **Judy:** _Ugh… Yes, a drug raid. Thanks…_

 **Nick:** _You sure sound like a grumpy bunny._

 **Judy:** _I still can't believe I said that._

 **Nick:** _Don't worry, I'll only remind you all day ;)_

 **Judy:** _Thanks again, I think…_

Nick snickered at her response before eyeing the time: _5:48 AM_

 **Nick:** _Anyways, I've gotta get going here soon or Tusks will have herself a new fox scarf._

 **Judy:** _Alright, see you tonight then!_

Nick was about to shut his phone off and place it back on its chargeable throne before a thought came to mind. He shook his head to rid him of the dark images before he sent her his final message of the morning.

 **Nick:** _And Carrots?_

… _Be safe..._

Nick hit send before he returned the phone to its previous resting place. Feeling the aching in his body, Nick groaned as he stretched out his body. With a satisfied _pop,_ he shuffled out of the sheets and completed his usual morning routine.

A few minutes later, Nick now closed the door behind him with a clean set of gym clothes and a carrot pen in his pocket to begin the hard day. An additional item accompanied him this morning as he ran into the rain with a book over his head, heading for the cafeteria. This book was large in size, almost the entire size of the fox which gave him more than enough cover from the assaulting droplets. Nick then dropped the book to his side as he entered the large structure of the academy, turning towards the door labeled ' _Cafeteria'._

Nick's soaked feet met the white tile floor of the mess hall as they directed his body towards direction of the brewing pot of coffee.

"Morning ma'am." Nick greeted with a yawn.

"Wilde." She acknowledged before she grabbed an already prepared cup of coffee from the counter. Nick mumbled a thanks before sipping the scalding hot coffee. The black liquid quickly helped Nick recover from his sleepy daze as he slowly became more aware with each passing second.

"What's that you got there?" The instructor questioned, pointing her trunk in the direction of the book.

"Gift from a friend. It's her old academy training textbook. I was planning on spending a couple of hours learning a few police codes." Nick responded with a shrug before he slurped the coffee again.

No further conversation was initiated by the two as they waited in the dry room for the others to come. One by one, the room slowly filled with animals of all sizes; cadets, employees, and instructors alike. After everyone was reasonably awake, the instructor addressed her class.

"Alright Cadets, FALL IN!" She ordered, easily louder than the ambiance of the now filled room. Everyone except the recruits assigned to her ignored her and went about their business as the group fell in line, awaiting further instructions.

"Over the past week, we have been repeatedly interrupted." She began, walking up and down the row of recruits. "I'll ask _nicely_ for it not to happen again. As I told you fleabags before, if you don't like someone, keep it to yourselves!" She finished with a stone cold glare to all recruits.

"Yes ma'am!" They shouted nervously in unison, pleasing the elephant.

"Good, now give me those morning laps! The faster you get it done, the faster you can get out of the rain! Move it!" She instructed, using her arms to push the cadets out of the comfortable environment.

With a sigh, Nick trudged out into the mud and quickly took lead as they ran circles around the green courtyard.

* * *

"Stupid mud…" Nick grumbled to himself as he toweled off his damp fur from a recent shower. He could've joined the others at the hose as they washed the mud of their feet if it wasn't for Jason's pesky tail knocking him down face-first into the muddy earth.

With a flick of his wrist, the towel flew out of his hands and landed halfway on the nearby bench, sliding off. Nick scowled as the damp cloth flopped to the cold hard ground. He then groaned as he sat down on that very bench, picking up the towel and properly placed it out on the bench to dry.

After the morning workouts, Nick and the other recruits rinsed themselves off before heading to the gym where they now currently occupied. Nick's current mood was foul at best but he tried his hardest not to show it. This task proved difficult due to the events of this morning replaying in his mind. It wasn't the fact that his mouth was filled with dirty mud as he face planted onto the ground. No, he was used to this from his many failed attempts at the Rainforest obstacle course. What really got to him was listening to the sound of the laughters coming from the two once-friendly wolves as they stared at his fallen body.

It was shockingly terrifying to see the sudden change in behavior from the twins. Before yesterday, Echo and Nick seemed to get along perfectly together as they would laugh and joke around, much to the instructor's displeasure. Even Luna had her friendly side as she always sweetly offered her assistance to Nick when ever he needed so. Now, Nick could feel their stares burn holes into the back of his head when they thought he wasn't paying attention.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he reached underneath the bench and pulled out a thick book. Opening to the table of contents, he skimmed the pages to his topic of interest. Once located, he turned to the specific page and began to read in an attempt to take his chaotic mind off the problems at paw.

This objective proved extremely difficult as the fox's ears perked at the sound of two arctic wolves tease each other as they trained together on a punching bag. Trying to separate his mind from the twins, he raised the book to block his line of sight from them and flattened his ears to his skull. Even with the added measures, his mind defied him and continued to think about the Carsons.

Nick sighed heavily as he shut his eyes and slammed his head into the book. _Why do I even care so much?_ He asked himself, but in reality, knew the answer. Change can be scary, but that bunny really did have a large effect on him whether he liked it or not. He wasn't sure if he should be grateful or frustrated at her from making him become so soft. A few seconds later, Nick lifted his head to the right as he felt the bench bunk under a new presence. Now seated on the bench beside him was Maxwell Hero. They did not make eye contact, for the rhino's eyes never faced Nick's direction, so the fox returned his attention back to the wolves.

The white furred canines were currently playfully punching each other in their shoulders, most likely due to a teasing comment coming from Echo's muzzle. With another heavy sigh, he returned his eyes to the book on his lap and began to read.

"You know, staring at them isn't going to fix things." Max began, stealing the fox's attention.

"Huh?" Nick asked blankly, returning his head to the rhino's direction.

"I can see it's bothering you. Why don't you do something about it?" Max pushed, gesturing his arms out to the wolves, still without making eye contact with the fox.

"Nothing's bothering me big guy." Nick chuckled as he attempted to shrug off the rhino but wasn't succeeding.

The fox then looked down at the open pages of the book. "You have to try, won't hurt." Max continued but the first four words of his comment easily got the attention of Nick. He snapped his neck to the rhino with a raised eyebrow. This time, Max turned his attention to the perplexed fox.

"What?" Max asked curiously.

"Oh, nothing…" Nick shrugged, bring a paw up to his neck to rub. "It's just… something a good friend always said.. So creepy how everyone does that." He humored, thinking of the words coming from her mouth.

' _Come on Nick! You have to try…' Judy whined, staring at him with the big bunny eyes._

' _Are you sure this is safe?' Nick asked skeptically as he held a carrot up to his nose to sniff._

' _Duh! I eat them all the time, trust me! It won't hurt.' She exclaimed energetically as she hopped circles around the fox. Holding his breath, he took a small bite from the carrot. Shockingly, it wasn't half bad, but not something he would eat to enjoy._

' _Not bad Carrots. But no thanks, I'll stick with my berries.' Nick responded nonchalantly, returning the orange vegetable back to the bunny._

Max's gruff voice broke Nick from his memory. "Well?"

Nick closed his book lightly, he knew it was pointless to try to concentrate now. "I just don't want them to make the same mistake I once made. I mean, what do I even say to them?" He asked, staring forward at the white animals with his head in his paw.

"Tell them the truth." Nick groaned at his response. _Not helping…_ Nick thought.

"Can you be any more vague than that?" He mocked with a nervous chuckle.

"Just tell them how you really feel about your past. If they won't try to understand you, then there is nothing you can do. At least you know that you tried." He shrugged, standing up from the bench.

"Woah! Where are you going?!" Nick asked franticly, abruptly standing himself.

"Sorry buddy, this is something you have to do on your own." With that, he walked off to the weights at the far corner of the room. "Good luck." Was his last reply before he disappeared behind the many machines and devices.

Nick slowly returned his attention to the wolves again. _He's right… Of course he's right._ He grumbled as he rubbed his sore head. _Now I'm taking advice from rhinos. What happened with the days I didn't need any help._ He sighed. With heavy resistance, he steadily walked up to the arctic canines.

"Hey." Nick responded casually, introducing himself to the wolves. The joyful faces of the twins quickly turned into a cold expression as they changed their focus to the intruding fox.

"Oh look sis, it's the water bottle thief. Make sure you hide yours this time." Echo commented coldly.

"Already ahead of you. I wonder what he'll try to steal next. Maybe your towel?" She replied, mockingly tapping her chin in thought.

"Look, I know I'm the last animal you probably want to see, but can I just explain myself first? Then I'll be out of your fur." Nick begged as he got tired of being talked to as if he wasn't there.

"I don't think so…" Echo responded almost immediately.

"There's nothing for you to explain." Luna finished, crossing her arms across her chest as she leaned against her brother.

"Yup, so why don't you scurry back to your foxhole." Echo agreed, waving his arm at him as if he was a worthless fly pestering him.

"Just give me a chance, that's all I ask." Nick implored.

"Did you give others a chance before you stole their money from them?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you think about what you were doing before you did it?" Echo pushed.

"Well-"

"No, no you didn't. So we don't see a reason to give you the same luxury." Luna interrupted immediately, turning around to walk away.

"Just-"

"Do you know what it feels like to be tricked yourself?" Echo semi-shouted before sharply turning around to follow her sister, fists tightly squeezed together.

Nick struggled to activate his hustling mind in an attempt to think of a strategy to work in his favor. He knew he was running out of time as this was going nowhere very quickly.

"Would you please liste-"

"NO!" Echo snapped, swerving around to face the small predator with fangs visible. "Do you even know what it feels like to be helpless?" Echo asked as his voice raised with every word. "Do you know what it feels like to lose someone that y-you love?! D-do you know what it feels like to GROW UP WITHOUT A FATHER?!" He fumed, aggressively stepping towards the stationary fox as he spoke.

His sister put a concerning paw on her brother's shoulder, bring him into a firm hug which he accepted gracefully.

"Yes."

Nick's response completely derailed the Carson's verbal assault on the guilty fox. Seeing this as his chance, Nick sighed and continued, whispering the first few words before confidently raising his voice.

"I easily got pushed around in school because I was smaller than others; yes, I know what it feels like to be helpless. I ran away from home when I was only 13 years old and haven't talked to my mother for 17 years; yes, I know what it feels like to lose someone that I love. And worst of all, my father left my own mother to fend for herself when I was only 3 years old! So yes, I know what it feels like to grow up without a father!" Nick concluded, never breaking eye contact with the stunned arctic wolves.

But Nick wasn't done.

"I became what I was because it was the only option I saw at the time. No one would accept a shifty fox as an employee, I was bullied for what I was, and I was treated like trash because of my stereotype. It took almost dying three times and a friend to get me to realize what I could really do. And now I plan to correct my past mistakes by helping those I wronged and stopping others like me from making other animal's lives worse." Nick said confidently, satisfied with their reaction. With a deep breath, he continued with a softer voice.

"But please don't make the same mistake I did. I lost a friend for an entire month because I was too _stupid_ to let her explain herself to me. I never tried to understand her actions when she said something I didn't like, on live television too. So I took all my frustration on her, when it wasn't her fault." He finished, placing a paw in his gym shorts to the location of the carrot pen. "I may have some skeletons, but I'm nothing like the monster who took your father from you. All I ask is a chance."

The wolf twins turned to each other with equal stunned expressions. For a long moment, they just stood there, staring into one another's eyes as they slowly recovered from the fox's unexpected response. All the while, the fox stood with a hopeful expression as he waited for a response.

Echo closed his eyes and sighed before he reopened them. He then squeezed his sister's shoulder with a smile before returning his gaze to the fox. "Alright." He said with a defeated sigh. "I'm not completely on for this… but…"

"We're willing to give you a chance." She said with a slim smile. But the fox couldn't stop a smile from breaking across his own muzzle.

Breathlessly, he responded sincerely. "Thank you…"

"Don't make us regret it." Echo threatened.

"I won't." He replied honestly.

"...and I'm sorry for the things I said… It's just that…" Luna apologized, trailing off at the second part of her apology.

"Say no more, I understand." Said Nick as he waved a paw out. She responded with a friendly smile and nod before turning away from the fox and returned to the punching bag. Her brother mimicked the action and followed behind her.

Nick let out a heavy breath he didn't know he was holding. He felt as if a massive weight was lifted off his shoulders at that moment. Usually, others opinions never really mattered for him, but for some reason, he was compelled to fix the broken bond between him and the Carsons. Maybe it was due to losing valuable allies, or maybe it was because they reminded him so much of himself. But now that he did just that, his mind freed him from his mental torture and for the first time in forever, he could think clearly.

His focus shifted from the wolves to the black sheep who shyly walked up to Nick with her hooves behind her back..

"Hey Fluff!" Nick greeted cheerfully.

"Hey Nick…" She greeted carefully. "So, uh, I heard you have a fear of muzzles…" She sighed before lifting her head up to the fox. "I think I have an idea that could help you, but you won't like it…"

Nick tilted his head to the side in confusion. Bella usually was shy but never like this. "Okay… What is it? I'm sure it's better than Ms Tusks failing me because I can't use them." He replied with a chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood.

She gave a small smile before she lowered her brows seriously. "Are you sure about this?" She asked skeptically.

"Of course, I trust you." He replied with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay…" She said, taking a couple steps back before stopping. "You can tell me to stop at any time." She instructed him, further confusing the fox. But Bella wasted no time to show him what he meant.

Slowly, she brought her arms out from behind her back, carefully holding a small metal device in her hooves. "Judy once told me that there's nothing to fear but fear itself… So, I thought, maybe if you were exposed to it enough, you'd soon be comfortable around it." She replied with a sheepish (pun intended) smile.

"Oh…"

Nick said as he listened to all her words without breaking his eye contact with the small metal device. Subconsciously, he shrunk back a small amount as his mind wanted nothing more than to get as far away from the muzzle as possible. The only thing that made him stay was the small voice in the back of his mind, reminding him that Bella would do nothing to harm him intentionally.

Bella hid the device behind herself again, forcefully stealing the fox's attention. She looked at him with concern filled eyes as she spoke softly. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" He questioned before he placed a paw on his chest. _Oh…_ Nick thought as he felt his unsteady heart beat erratically. While his paw was on his chest, he noticed was his shallow movement of his chest.

He was hyperventilating.

Closing his eyes, he breathed in deeply before slowly letting it out. He repeated the step until he was sure he calmed down enough before opening his eyes.

"I'm alright." He finally responded with a smile.

Hesitantly, she nods and reveals the muzzle from behind her back once more. This time, Nick was prepared and focused on his breathing to remain in control. For minutes, she just held the item in her hooves for Nick to observe. Soon, Nick took it a step further as he closed the distance between him and Bella. As soon as he was close enough, he doubtfully extended an arm out, gesturing to give the muzzle over.

"Are you sure?" She asked skeptically, pulling her hooves closer to herself in the process.

"Well, I'm gonna have to sooner or later." He chuckled, "Might as well start somewhere."

With a nod, she carefully placed the metal device in his awaiting paws. Once she released it from her grasp, he brought it to his eyes for a closer examination. He calmly rotated it, trying to understand its design. _See, nothing to be afraid of…_ Nick thought reassuringly, slowly a smile spread across his face.

But as Nick turned it to where the entrance of the muzzle faced him, his smile vanished. A sense of déjà vu overcame him. The vivid images of being pinned to the cold ground by the other scouts as he stare helplessly at the muzzle being placed on his own muzzle. The look of satisfaction on their faces in the background around him as he struggled to get the muzzle off further haunted him.

The sound of metal clinging snapped him out of the day dream as he looked down at the fallen item. Bringing a paw up to his eyesight, he noticed a slight shake present.

"Okay, I think that's enough for today." Bella finally said, scooting the muzzle away from Nick with her foot. She then grabbed Nick's paw and dragged him over to the nearest bench. Next, she reached down and grabbed an unopened water bottle from below and handed it over to the fox, who accepted it without hesitation.

"MY CLASS!" Hollered a stern, yet familiar voice. Nick turned around to gaze at the elephant at the entrance, as did Bella. "Lunch break." She explained, "When we get back, I want to shove you all back into the arena. So enjoy your rest." She said with a devious smile before walking out.

Bella and Nick looked at each other with neutral expressions before shrugging. They got up and followed the elephant out the door.

* * *

 _You can do this…_ Nick motivated himself as he bounced up and down in front of his opponent in the ring. From watching the earlier matches, he knew the tiger was careless with his punches. The fox concluded that would have to use this to his advantage if he ever stood a chance at winning against the striped orange behemoth.

"BEGIN ON MY SIGNAL!" The instructor called out, preparing her whistle. Nick stopped bouncing and readied his guard for the oncoming fight. Both foes gazed into one another's eyes as they waited for the screeching hollar of the whistle. Not a few seconds later, she blew the whistle.

Springing into action, Ryan swung low, hoping for an early hit. Anticipating his attack, Nick jumped to the side, easily avoiding the strike. Now Ryan stood unguarded as he recovered from his miss. Using this to his advantage, the fox quickly maneuvered behind his foe and kicked hard on the back of his knee, kneeling the tiger to the ground.

This victory was short lived as Ryan used his tail to sweep Nick of his feet as he himself recovered. Ryan then attempted to tackle the fallen fox but Nick backrolled away before he could reach him.

Don't look now but I think I see a spider on your shoulder." Nick mumbled through the mouthpiece.

"Nice try Wilde, but I'm not falling for that." Ryan said sternly.

"Worth a shot." Nick shrugged, returning back to his serious stance.

Now they were both back to where they started the match; gazing into each other's eyes. This time, Nick took the initiative as he ran unguarded to the tiger before him. After dodging both jabs of defense from Ryan, Nick ran directly under the tiger before jumping upwards with all his might, fist in the air. As a result, Ryan stumbled back from the sudden uppercut, holding onto the ropes to regain his balance.

Spitting the blood covered mouthguard, Ryan spoke. "You're going to pay for that Wilde." He growled.

"Not if I can't help it." Nick said through his own mouthguard with a smirk.

With another growl in frustration, Ryan charged at Nick with rage filled eyes.

 _Perfect._ Nick thought to himself. He finally found his opponent's weakness and he fully intended to make use of this flaw. Getting in position, the fox swiftly rolled between the tiger's leg while he dodged the fists of the tiger and grabbed onto his tail. Next, he quickly ran a full circle around the tiger before he kicked his knee as hard as he could.

Ryan stumbled as he fell to his knee once again. This time, due to his tail, he fell fully face first onto the ground. Not sparing a second, the fox hopped up on the tiger and swung both hands behind his back in a lock.

"TIME! Great job Wilde! If that'd been real, that would've been the part where you cuff the suspect." The instructor called out with a nod in approval before turning her attention to the resting tiger. "Phanex! Learn to control your temper, that was your downfall. Also, always protect your tail! It's a part of you and can be used against you. Now both of you, get out of my ring." She instructed before turning her attention to her clipboard once more.

Nick listened to the ambiance of cheers coming from his fellow cadets as he exited the ring. A bright smile broke across Nick's face as his ego boosted dangerously. _Not a bad day afterall…_

* * *

After watching the others spare, the instructor finally called it a night and allowed her cadets to enjoy their freetime. Nick used the time to enjoy a nice tray full of 'dinner' from the mess hall before retiring to his dorm for a quick shower. Now Nick laid on his soft bed with his paws behind his head. On his lap, was his phone as he waited for the clock to tick to her usual calling time.

Sneaking a peek at the nearby digital clock, he viewed the time: _9:57 PM_

 _Only three minutes to go…_ Nick thought. He was excited for the talk with Judy for many selfish reasons. Usually, Judy spent most of the phone call chatting about herself and her accomplishments of the day while the fox idly listened. But now, Nick had a reason to start a conversation. He especially wanted to talk about his recent victory against the tiger.

He anxiously looked at the time again: _9:59 PM_

 _Any minute now…_ Nick thought excitingly, butterflies forming in his stomach. Grabbing his phone, he watched the seconds tick by until it hit 10 o'clock. _And… Now!_ He thought, preparing his thumb for the incoming call.

Except it never came.

He snapped his head over to the alarm clock once more to view the time: _10:03 PM_

 _That's not like her…_ Nick wondered, waiting patiently for the call. After 15 minutes, the fox's patience wore thin. Thinking of a solution, Nick turned on his phone and scrolled through his contacts. After finding the correct one, he clicked ' _call'_.

The program now began to ring as it waited for the receiver of the call to answer the phone. Several rings later, the phone went to voicemail. The fox just looked at the device in disbelief. Judy always answered her phone, either by accepting or denying the incoming call from him. If her phone was shut off, it would go straight to voicemail. But not this time. The tod tried a couple more times, each one ending as it did the first time. That was when the realization hit him.

Judy wasn't picking up her phone.

* * *

 **Confused? Muhaha! I hope so… Stay tuned to find out what exactly I have planned!**

 **Anyways, I'd like to thank all those who followed/favorited my story so far! It's amazing that you guys are liking the story so far! I won't disappoint you all. And for those who want to know what will happen next, please follow/favorite for more! I post within hours-3 days at most, at least that's how it's been so far.**

 **AND THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO REVIEWED! It really does mean a lot to read your opinion! I've seen other authors do this before so I thought I might as well give it a shot:**

 _ **Junick is awesome**_ **\- Thanks! I'm glad you are enjoying it so far! And sure I wouldn't mind helping you. Just go to your profile, and go under the tab publish on the left of the screen. From there, you can use Doc Manager to work on a chapter and save it. To post a new story, just go to new story, accept the terms of use and post that saved chapter. To post further chapters, create a new chapter in doc manager and go to manage stories, then just upload new chapter and you're done!**

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 _ **Chaos-Wolfy**_ **\- Wohoo! Strong love here. And what would make you get the idea it was Jason :3**

 _ **Foxlover91**_ **\- That rain idea was inspired in the beginning of this story xD Thought it would be a nice introduction lol I'm glad my twists are getting the nice reaction I wanted too! And Jason's time is coming soon :)**

 _ **Anette090**_ **\- Hey! Thank you for following and favoriting the story and I'm glad you are liking it so far. And yup, tons of thinking went into this before I began to write it, I'm glad that effort payed off! I hope you liked this chapter too :)**

 _ **Anon -**_ **I'm really glad you're eager! Sorry this comment wasn't up when I first posted the chapter. Guest comments usually take around a day before it actually shows up on the review page :l Anyways! I hope you'll like the next chapter!**

 **That's all! Thank you guys for leaving a review, I love reading you guys comments! It's a real inspiration to keep going. Please leave another review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! And I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have to offer.**

 **That's it for now! Until next time!**

 **Peace!**

 **Edited by a Nickel, followed by Az…**


	8. Conclusions & New Beginnings

**.**

 **Hey! Sorry guys about that Author's note. I wanted to inform you guys about the changes in the chapter and I hope you understand.**

 **Also, I want to apologize for leaving you all off with a cliffhanger. I just couldn't help myself. And yes, I've been planning that ever since I began writing this story. Why do you think I was so excited to write this chapter? I can finally sleep peacefully without thoughts coming to mind.**

 **Anyways, I want to thank all those who followed/favorited my story already! I'm happy that so much of you are enjoying this so far and are wanting more! As promised, I will not disappoint! Please enjoy :)**

* * *

"Coffee…" Nick groaned to the instructor as he walked into the mess hall. A few seconds later, the instructor finally complied and gave the exhausted fox his normal styrofoam cup filled to the brim with scalding hot liquid life. With a yawn, he grabbed it and chugged it down, welcoming the temperature completely.

"Rough night?" She asked curiously, yet in the same robotic tired voice Nick previously used.

"You could say that," He responded with a nod after another yawn. "Couldn't sleep." He said sleeply, holding out the now empty styrofoam cup, waiting for it to be refilled. She took it from his paws and refilled the cup once more.

While waiting, Nick pulled out his phone from his pocket and checked his texts for any new updates.

 **10: 46 PM Nick:** _Hey Carrots, just wondering why you never picked up. Also, you've got to tell me how the drug raid went._

 **11: 26 PM Nick:** _Couldn't sleep, is your eternal flame of energy still burning?_

 **12: 13 AM Nick:** _Ugh, too tired but I can't fall asleep. Suffer with me..._

 **5:03 AM Nick:** _Morning Fluff, still waiting on that response from last night._

 **5:15 AM Nick:** _Alright, alright. You've had your laugh, now can you please answer my questions? I'm dying over here._

 **5:48 AM Nick:** _Please don't tell me you dropped your phone in the toilet… again._

 **5:57 AM Nick:** _C'mon, answer me Fluff, it's not funny anymore…_

Nick's shoulders slumped down even lower than before after viewing his last message. He still has yet to receive a response from Judy. With a sigh, Nick dialed her phone number and clicked 'call.'

After four rings, the call went straight to voicemail. Instead of leaving a message in the voicemail, he ended the call and sent her another text.

 **6: 01 AM Nick:** _Judy?_

Storing the device back into his pocket, he looked up at the entrance as the sleepy recruits now filled the room. Sluggish 'mornings' were exchanged between cadet and instructor as they each got their morning drinks. Occasionally, some of them preferring the standard tea instead of the ever so popular coffee while others chowed down on the morning muffins and bagels laid out on the counter for people to eat.

Even though he watched the other recruits eat the delicious treats with a watering mouth, Nick wasn't hungry right now for a tasty blueberry muffin, which was downright unnatural for him. Usually, he would take anything he could get his paws on that wasn't the spitball they call food. But not today, for some reason, he felt completely drained of any will to continue and wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep. Considering he wanted to do that everyday, he was happy that at least something of him was normal.

Thinking about last night dampened his mood even more. After many tosses and turns, Nick finally managed to enter the realm of unconsciousness at around one o'clock in the morning. During his time awake, he reviewed one single question over and over, hoping for a direct answer.

 _Why didn't Judy answer?_ A couple of possibilities came to him. At first he thought maybe she was too busy but after seeing still no response from this morning and the calls he made never got canceled, he ruled out that idea. Then he thought maybe she damaged her phone somehow. But if this were the case, the phone should've went to voicemail right away.

At last, the only conclusion he could come up with is that she couldn't pick up her phone. How he came to this was he knew she would've responded to a call if she received it. He also knew that her phone was on and not shut off or damaged. After many minutes of thought, he came to the conclusion that she probably forgot her phone. Even with how unlikely that is with her perfectionist personality, it was the only reason Nick could come up with at midnight.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, he chugged down the coffee once more after he grabbed it from the elephant, slowly regaining his senses. A collective set of gasps caught the fox's attention. Turning to the commotion, he saw a group of animals huddled up together close to the wall, looking up at the television.

"What's a matter guys? Cat got your tongue." Nick commented, squeezing through the group to see what they were all so interested in. " _Tsk tsk._ Shouldn't listen to what that candidate has to say, I-" He stopped after reading the headlines of the news channel.

The color from his face drained quickly as he stiffed as hard as a rock. He didn't even feel the burning hot coffee spill on his feet as the styrofoam cup dropped from his paws. His eyes were strictly glued to the few words at the bottom of the screen.

' _Precinct 1 Officer Shot during a successful Drug Raid.'_

Nick couldn't believe what he was seeing. He immediately welcomed the sound of the news anchors talking on the screen, perking his ears vertically and faced them to the screen fully.

" _Breaking news. Welcome to the 6 o'clock news. I'm Peter Moosebridge…"_

" _And I'm Fabienne Growley."_

" _For those of you who are just tuning in, at around 6 o'clock at night, an officer from Precinct One was shot during a drug raid against the notorious crime boss Amaro Steelskin. The armadillo is currently under the custody of the authorities."_

" _That's correct. Over 600 pounds of the drug Cogitatio was collected during that successful mission. Unfortunately, there was a couple of casualties. Among those casualties, one of them being the most severe, was that of the officer who was shot. We are still waiting for confirmation on who this Officer is and if they made it out of surgery successfully."_

" _Speaking of which, the Chief of Precinct One's issued press conference will begin in a moment after this short break. Please stay with us..."_

Nick just stood speechless as meaningless ads played across the screen. Not once did Nick budge from his spot, even after some of the animals left from the group, he continued to be glued to the screen. Scenes from his previous nightmare vividly reappeared as Nick stared down at the lifeless body of a gray bunny in his paws.

After what felt like an eternity for the fox, the familiar background of the Precinct's podium was displayed on the screen as many reporters set up their cameras. A few moments later, a blue uniformed buffalo came into the camera's view and waited at the podium for complete silence.

" _As you may know, at around 6 o'clock last night, we conducted a very successful raid against a drug smuggler, whose name is confidential. Not only did we obtain around 600 pounds of his produced substance, we also managed to arrest the smuggler and the crime lord Amaro Steelskin in the process. Unfortunately, at around 6:23 PM, Officer Judy Hopps was caught in the middle of gunfire while attempting to free the hostages in the situation. Because of her actions, we managed to free the innocent children who were working as slaves to hall the illegal substances." He informed proudly, adjusting his voice as he continued._

" _Officer Hopps was shot in her lower abdomen. Luckily for her, the bullet managed to miss all vital organs and arteries. Hopps is expected to make a full recovery. That is all for now." The Chief concluded, leaving the podium. Reporters attempted to pour questions into the buffalo but they were easily ignored._

Nick finally released the large intake of oxygen he had been holding after hearing the Chief's final statement. _She's alright…_ Nick thought happily. _So that's why she wasn't answering her phone._

"Why can't I have a normal day for once." The elephant instructor groaned, rubbing her arms across her face. Nick slowly turned around, looking up at her neutrality. Dropping her arms down to her sides, she looked back at the fox. "This is going to distract you all day, isn't it?" She deadpanned robotically.

She groaned as the fox bleakly nodded at her question. "Go on then. I don't care anymore. But this is the last time I'm letting you skip training, understood?" She said, abandoning all hope on controlling the fox.

"Yes ma'am!" Nick said with a salute before running out the door and towards the academy gates. While running, he pulled out his phone and called a taxi.

* * *

Nick was now a few blocks away from the hospital. Once the taxi took him to the train station, he quickly bought a ticket to Savannah Central and boarded the next train. After arriving, he went to the nearest store and bought her a 'get well' card, along with a few purple flowers that caught Nick's eye.

As he approached the hospital, he noticed a dozens of news vans that surrounded the structure, swarming the doors for any information they can get. Putting two-and-two together, Nick reasoned that they were here because of Judy.

"Perfect…" Nick sarcastically said, staring at the animals with notepads in their hands. If there were so many animals waiting on one mammal, Nick wondered if he would even get the chance to even visit her. With a shake of his head, followed by a sigh, Nick approached the front doors.

The reporters paid the fox no mind as he was just another visitor in their eyes, just like any other mammal that entered and exited the establishment. Thankfully, the reporters were off to the side of the hospital, allowing anyone who wished to enter to do so without any resistance.

Nick opened the see-through glass doors of the Zootopia's central hospital and stepped inside. Just like Precinct One, the entire place seemed massive. The walls that surrounded him were covered in a clear spotless paint, pure of any color. Surrounding those walls were sets of chairs and tables of different sizes. There were many other animals present in the room with Nick, majority prey. They just sat patiently, occupying their time with the hospital's magazines or their own phones. A few kept their eyes on their rambunctious kids as they played with each other. One horse child in particular mouth hang open as he drooled, staring hungrily at the plastic green plants along the wall.

Nick chuckled at the thought of the poor horse trying to digest the plastic decoration. Turning his attention forward, he saw a multilayer desk, built for the use of mammals of all sizes. With a sigh, he walked up to the receptionist desk, specifically towards the section of the desk meant for small to medium sized mammals.

Sitting at the desk was a small otter, hard at work on the keyboard as she typed in miscellaneous information. She was too busy to even notice the lone fox approach the counter. "Excuse me?" Nick called out, gaining the attention of the employee.

"Oh! Hello, what can I do you for sir?" She asked politely as she stopped her frantic paws from typing.

"I have a friend who was recently put in the hospital, I'd like to visit her please." Nick returned the politeness, leaning against the counter as he spoke.

"Of course, what is her name?" She asked, turning to her computer as she readied her paws to type.

"Judy Hopps." Nick stated hopefully.

"Alright, let me see here…" She said with a couple of clicks from her mouse pad. "Oh, no. I'm sorry. That patient is under strict conditions. Only family members and the authority are allowed to visit her right now." She said apologetically, turning back to the fox.

" _I knew it…"_ Nick cursed to himself before looking back up to the otter. "Could I still see her? I'm her best friend."

"I'm sorry, rules are rules. I'm not-"

"It's alright." Said a deep and gruff voice from behind them, cutting off the worker. Both animals attention were drawn to the new intruder. Nick had to look up to view the entire figure of the mammal.

Standing before him was none other than Chief Bogo himself. He wore his usual police uniform, complete with the four golden stars shining brightly on the buffalo's collar. He crossed his arms and looked down at Nick. "Wilde? What are you doing here?" He questioned.

"Ha! So you still remember my name after all." Nick said with the snap of his fingers. "I actually came here for the same reason as you." He said casually, setting the items in his paws down on the counter of the desk.

The Chief brought his hoof to his face and rubbed his forehead. "It's all over the news isn't it?" He said with a sigh, dropping his arm back to his side. "Shouldn't you be at the academy right now."

"Nope! My instructor was nice enough to give me a _nice_ and calming break from today's training. I decided to use that to visit a friend." He stated with a wink before continuing. "But I can't because she's apparently under strict security…" Nick grumbled, crossing his arms in the process.

"Fine…" The Chief grumbled, rubbing his sore forehead once again, "...come with me." The fox was more than happy to comply, snatching the flowers and card from the desk once more.

"But sir!" The otter called out frantically, waving an arm in the air.

"It's alright, he's allowed." The chief responded, heading past the desk and to the nearest elevator. Nick taunted the confused otter by bring two fingers to his head for a salute before he winked, disappearing behind the counter and into the elevator, out of sight of the otter.

As they stepped into the elevator, the chief pressed one of the buttons located on the wall. With a ding, the elevator door closed and the two mammals silently began their journey upwards. The lumbering buffalo was the first one to break their silence.

"She's a good officer, you know. She just doesn't know when to quit." The chief said as he continued to stare forward.

"And that's what makes her such a good officer." He replied matter-of-factly with a shrug before turning his his body to face Bogo. "Wait, why you here anyways?" He asked curiously.

"One of my officers was just shot, I've came to come check up on her." He said, turning his head to the curious fox.

Nick mocked a gasp, placing a paw on his heart. "Oh my! What's this, the steel emotionless buffalo does care." He said with a smirk.

"You have no idea the kind of paperwork I have to go through when this stuff happens." Bogo said, crossing his arms in defiance. "I also need to review her statement." Just as he finished his sentence, a ding echoed through the steel casing of the elevator.

"Huh. Public elevator ride without a single interruption. Must be our lucky day." Nick shrugged, stepping out of the elevator before swerving around to face the buffalo once more, walking backwards in the process. "Keep telling yourself that big guy." He said with a sly smile, flipping his body back around the correct way and walked on forward.

Nick's ears perked at the sound of the Chief's grumbling, mumbling something about the fox. They continued forward down the hall, passing by various nurses in clean white uniforms. "Do you even know where you are going?" The Chief called out behind him, causing Nick to stop and turn around.

"Course I do, she's…" Nick said, closing his eyes as he sniffed the sterile air for any traces of a rabbit. He was met with only the clean stench of chemicals and cleaner, with no traces of her scent anywhere. "This way?" Nick said unsuringly, pointing off towards a random door.

Bogo instead chose not to reply as he shook his skull and headed off into the opposite direction of the fox's finger. The fox just carelessly shrugged his shoulders and followed behind the buffalo as he navigated through the hall.

A few moments later, he stopped at a door labeled '1706'. Bogo then brought up a hoof and knocked on the door. Nick's heart felt like it leaped when he heard the sweet sound of Judy's voice as she called out. "It's open, come in!" He was powerless to stop the smile from breaking across his face.

With the turn of the knob, the buffalo pushed the door open. Stepping forward, the buffalo ducked under the arch of the door to make sure he didn't hit his horns against the small frame of the door. Nick closed the door behind him as he followed the Chief inside.

"Hey Chief!" She called out, waving an arm in the air to greet him. But not a few seconds later, she brought the paw back down and clutched her side, shutting her eyes as she groaned in pain.

"Are you alright?" Bogo voiced as he walked up to one of the chairs in the room and sat down.

"Yeah. I can't believe I'm still on the painkillers and it still hurts this much." She said in disbelief, finally reopening her eyes to look at the chief. "Why are you here anyways?" She said quizzically, raising an eyebrow in the process.

"I came to check up on my officer to see if she's alright." He responded.

Nick interrupted with a fake cough. "*cough *wheeze _Told you so…_ *cough *cough." He said, smugly looking at the frustrated buffalo. Judy on the other paw, snapped her neck towards the fox with a surprised expression.

"Nick! I didn't see you there." She said excitingly, slightly hopping up and down in her seat before abruptly stopping. "Wait, what are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be back at the academy?"

"Ugh…" Nick groaned, "Would you guys please stop repeating each other's words, you're really starting to freak me out. First Echo and the instructor, then Max and you, and now you and Buffalo-butt." He complained, shaking his head in the process.

Bogo raised an unimpressed eyebrow, opening his mouth to protest but Judy beat him to it. " _Nick!_ You shouldn't call him that. Everyone has a name." She said frantically. "Now could you please answer my question?"

He just shrugged and walked forward to the hospital bed with his arms linked behind his back. "What? Can't say hi to some-bunny?" He said with puppy eyes, whispering playfully the next part. "I'm hurt." He whimpered, quivering his lip in the process.

He was close enough for Judy to give him a playful shove, so she did. "Don't give me those eyes." She giggled.

"Oh! I also brought you some things." He claimed, bringing the paper card from behind him but kept the flowers hidden.

She accepted it gratefully, eagerly opening up the card to read it's contents. After she finished reading, she looked at Nick with no emotion. "Really Nick? 'Get well soon, headstones are expensive'?"

He just shrugged nonchalantly and responded. "Hey! I didn't write that, that was already on the card." He said with a smirk.

"What about this part. 'Hey Carrots, heard somebody decided to take a bullet. I'm proud of you, that's a sneaky way of getting out of work…'" She said unimpressed.

"Huh, I knew that cashier was up to something…" He said, pretendingly tapping his chin in the process.

"There's more…" She said with a sigh, returning her eyes to the card. "'Get well soon because I have nobody to send my silly pictures to and have to do actual work when you're out. -Dumb fox.'" She read with a giggle, bringing her eyes back up to Nick. But as she looked up, she was met with the colors of purple and the scent of sweet flowers.

"For you." Nick commented, allowing the bunny to take the flowers from his paws.

"Aww! How sweet of you. _Violaceae_ , really beautiful flowers." Said Judy appreciatively with a smile. Nick could've swore he saw a hint of pink under her gray fur.

A cough broke the two from their trance as they turned back to a certain uncomfortable buffalo. "I've got some paperwork that I need to attend to. I'll be back later to get your statement Hopps." He said, standing up from the chair and headed out of the door. Nick's pointy ears perked at the sound of Bogo grumbling to himself one more, this time being able to hear clearly what he had to say.

" _So that's what Clawhauser meant… I'll have to put a few bucks on that bet..."_

Nick looked at Judy, hoping she would have an answer but she just shrugged at his gaze. Nick followed suit and shrugged before calling out to the Chief. "Try not to get _too much_ papercuts big guy!"

" _Stupid fox."_ He commented before stepping out of the room and slamming the door shut behind him.

Now all that was left in the room was the fox and bunny who waited patiently for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter at the buffalo's reaction. Nick stopped early at the sound of Judy wheezing, painfully holding her side in the process. After a few seconds, she recovered and looked back up at the fox.

"You know you shouldn't aggravate him like that." She said with a smile.

"Do I know that? Yes, yes I do. But I can't help it sometimes." He said with an unapologetic shrug, hopping up onto one of the chairs next to the bed. "He makes it _so_ easy."

They just sat in silence, basking in each other's company. He didn't know why, but something about her being around him made him feel comfortable and at home. He welcomed the feeling with open arms.

Nick broke the silence first. "You know, I broke our promise by coming here." He said, looking out the window.

"Wait, what promise?" She asked with the hint of concern.

"Back on the train station platform. I believe you said 'Next time I see you, I expect to see you as an officer.' I'm no officer yet." He said with a smile.

"Yet." She repeated. Nick returned his face to Judy's as he gave her a nod.

"I do have one question though…" Nick commented. Judy tilted her head slightly, making no comment in order to allow him to continue. "Why didn't you answer your phone when I called if you're already awake?"

It took a couple of seconds before Judy's face reacted at the question. Her eyes grew wide and her ears dropped. She gasped with a comment. " _My parents!"_

Nick lowered one ear down and tilted his head to the side with a confused expression. A slight knock on the door snapped his attention to the new guests.

"Judy, we're back! And we got that stuff you asked for back at your apartment. I can't believe you live there anyways. No daughter of mine-" The male rabbit of the duo said while opening up the door and staring at the bag in his paws. When he looked up, he abruptly stopped his train of thought and gazed directly at Nick.

"Hi?" Nick said nervously, slowly bringing a paw up to wave.

Both bunnies didn't return the gesture and turned their suprised faces to Judy. "Hi mom, hi dad. Uh, this is Nick. My friend." She introduced, answering their questions and unintentionally answering Nick's.

They slowly walked toward the opposite side of the bed where the fox wasn't occupying and gave the bag to Judy, all without their eyes leaving Nick.

After a few tense seconds, the female bunny finally spoke. "Wait, I know you. You're Nick Wilde, aren't you?" She asked.

Nick's expression was now the one to make the surprised face as he nodded. "How do you know me?"

"We read about the Night Howler case on the news… and may or may not have done some research on you…" She answered sheepishly, avoiding everyone's gaze.

"You _what?"_ Judy gasped, looking back and forth between both of her parents.

"We just want to make sure you were safe! I mean, afterall you wouldn't stop talking about him… And after reading in the papers that he was a…" She trailed off, not wanting to finish the question out of guilt.

"So you assume that he was dangerous?" She said in disgust. While shaking her head, she reached into the pouch they brought and pulled out her phone. After a few seconds, Judy called out to the fox.

"Nick?" She asked.

"Huh?"

"Why did you call me a total of seven times and sent me eight texts?" She questioned, staring at her phone and read the messages.

His eyes widened a bit as he blushed slightly. He then looked down at his empty wrist and tapped it repeatedly. "Would you look at the time. I've got somewhere I need to be right now. I'ma leave you guys to catch up in the meantime. I'll be back later and I'll bring some lunch back with me." He said in a hurry as he rushed out of the room.

* * *

Groaning, Nick rubbed his tired eyes as he walked down the streets of Zootopia. It has been at least four hours since the fox rushed out the hospital. _Stupid…_ Nick scolded himself. Nick wondered what Judy might've thought at his sudden departure.

He didn't even know why he ran himself. Usually he would've just shoved the comment off with some lame joke. But for some reason, he bolted out of the room without a second thought. Groaning again, Nick mumbled to himself. "Ugh, what is that bunny doing to me?" He rubbed his face but a few seconds later, he dropped his arms down to his side in defeat.

A new scent distracted him from his thoughts. Turning to the source, he was met with the doors of Marian's Family Diner. _It's been awhile since I left. Maybe Judy's parents are gone by now._ He thought hopefully. With a nod to no one in particular, he entered the diner.

 **...**

A few minutes later, the fox walked out the door with two bags in his paws. One contained the contents of a delicious cricket burger he planned to devour once he had time. While the other contained the lush green leaves of the green salad Judy ordered last time they were here.

With a deep breath, Nick began his journey back to the hospital. As he returned, he noticed the presence of the reporters significantly died down from his initial visit. Now, all that was left was a few news vans and reporters who lazily lay on the green grass of the hospital yard as they waited for anything new.

Turning his attention back to the hospital, he began his journey up the steps until he reached the door. Using his back, he pushed open the door and entered the hospital once more. Retracing his steps, Nick reemerged into the steel casing of the elevator after winking at the hard working otter as he passed.

With a press of the button he remembered the Chief pressing, the elevator began its journey to the 17th floor of the hospital. This time, his luck seem to dwindle as a family of hippos joined him in the elevator, taking some of his personal space in the process. He was grateful when the doors of the elevator opened to his destination and let him out of the lift.

Walking down the hall, Nick turned to the sixth door and opened it without knocking. "Well Carrots-" He began to say but stopped himself as he heard the light snores of Judy's breathing. He quietly closed the door behind him and walked up to the hospital chair. He looked around the room for anyone else's presence in the room but, thankfully no one else was there but him.

Nick then reached into the bag and grabbed the box from inside and sat the salad down on the stand next to Judy's bed. Now the table contained a paper card, a box containing lush green leaves, her phone, and the purple flowers wrapped in a golden yellow ribbon.

Taking out his own box, Nick munched on his burger as he watched her sleep. New thoughts soon entered the fox's mind after a few bites. Thinking back onto the one restless night he had a week ago, the nightmare he once had becoming the most vivid of the thoughts.

Nick traced where Judy's arms rest, as they both sat idly on the injured side of her lower abdomen; the exact same side and place he saw in his dream. Nick convinced himself that it would never happen to her, but here she was, lying weakly in the bed in pain. _I should've been there…_ He tried to reason but he knew he couldn't even if he tried. It was part of the job, and she was the unlucky one this time.

The only option he saw was to graduate that way he could be there for her next time, maybe take the bullet for her instead.

Nick stopped eating his burger at the thought. _Why would I do that, I certainly wouldn't do it for anyone else… Why her?_ He wondered with wide eyes. He thought back to the time when he stood up to the Chief when he was about to take Judy's badge on that platform.

 _Why did I help her there?_ He questioned logically. But the answer for him was simple. He couldn't stand the look she plastered onto her face when that buffalo held out his hoof, waiting for the badge to be placed there. He only wanted to make her laugh and smile, to simply be happy was good enough for him.

He then thought about the time they spent on the tram. Nick felt the exact same feeling he was experiencing now. The feeling that got him to open up to her and tell her his part of his story there. _I've always wanted to protect her, even when I didn't even know it…_ He realized, looking at her sleeping face with shock. _What is that bunny doing to me?_ He wondered once more.

After finishing his burger, he threw the empty plastic box and bag away in the nearest hospital trash bin.

 _*Snnnnahhhhhhhh*_ Judy snored loudly, almost causing Nick to burst out into a fit of giggles if he didn't cover his mouth. Seizing the situation, Nick grabbed his phone from his pocket and took a couple of selfies with the snoring bunny. Once he took the picture that he was satisfied with, he sent the photo to Judy's phone, causing the nearby table to vibrate.

 **Nick:** _Did you know you snore. ;) I set some real food on the table. Trust me, the food here sucks._

For the next few moments, Nick just sat and enjoyed her presence, staring out at the city below before he stood up and began to walk out the door. Halfway there, he stopped suddenly and looked back at her resting body and closed his eyes, listening only to her rhythmic breathing. A few seconds later, Nick opened his eyes and headed out the door with a new fire burning bright; a fire that could never be extinguished.

In that moment, he promised to himself to be by her side when no one else would. In that moment, he decided that he would do anything to make her happy. In that moment, he'd protect her with all his strength and to his last dying breath. It was at that moment, when Nicholas Wilde imprinted on Judy Hopps.

* * *

 **WAIT WAHHH? What did you guys think of the last two paragraphs? I really want to know! Please leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter! This was the definition I was going for when I wrote that part by the way:**

A phenomenon by which an animal during a formative stage of life forms a lasting attachment to, and preference for, some object or activity through exposure to the same independent of consequences.

 **Also, my previous question still stands. If I were to continue on this story, what would you like to see in the future? The story from Judy's perspective? See how she is faring? Or should I continue on from Nick's graduation and the many adventures of Nicholas Wilde and Judy Hopps? Only one person answered this question but I'd like to hear from more of you guys!**

 **Since this worked out so well last time, I thought I might as well try it again. Thank you guys for the reviews! It means a lot to read them!**

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ **Hehe… As you can see, that wasn't the only foreshadow I did in this story ;) And thanks for answering my question too! So far it's 1 to 0 for Judy's perspective.**

 _ **Kevinsaid -**_ **I'm sorry you feel that way. Your review did make me feel a bit down so I tried my best to fix the other chapters but as far as plot goes along, that's not changing. Hope you understand. :)**

 _ **MrAndersIversen -**_ **Shhh! I don't know why I made a mistake there xD haha I hope you like this chapter as much as you did the last one.**

 _ **Zootopia fan of fiction -**_ **omg sorry xD Didn't mean to excite you! But this one is the real deal this time ;) Hope you got your power back :P**

 _ **Guest -**_ **I hope you liked what I had in store for this chapter. And of course, Nick sheds no tears :P I hope that matched his personality, and I hope that what I did there at the end also made sense too :D**

 **Well, until next chapter: Out of the Shadows**

 **Peace!**

 **Edited once again by NickelAz!**


	9. Out of the Shadows

**.**

 **HOLY…. My story currently has a total of 37 reviews. 11 of those reviews were on last chapter ALONE. That really tells me that you guys enjoyed that last chapter as much as I did writing it. Thank you guys deeply for the support.**

 **Okay, so I've come to a conclusion. Thanks to your overwhelming support, I have decided to continue on from this chapter. Originally, I only planned out 10 chapters. But thanks to you guys answering my question, I know what I will be doing now. It was a 6 to 2 vote, and the majority of you guys want me to continue on their adventures. But, almost everyone wanted me to mix the two point of views together, so I decided to try that out in this chapter and see how it goes.**

 **I also might throw a couple of flashbacks for Judy to let you guys know what she was going through during Nick's time at the academy, maybe let you in on what she might've been thinking at the time ;)**

 **Because of this new change in direction, the contents of this chapter were recently developed. I originally had a severe plot twist planned this chapter, but I need to add this to go along with my future plans :P I'm sure you will enjoy it anyways.**

 **Next chapter, no spoilers, but justice will be served! That's all I have to say :) Enjoy.**

* * *

"Would you look at the time. I've got somewhere I need to be right now. I'ma leave you guys to catch up in the meantime. I'll be back later and I'll bring some lunch back with me." Nick said just before running straight out of the room without looking back.

Judy just sat there with a dumbfounded expression, idly staring at the now closed hospital door. A small cough from her bedside snapped her out of her trance and towards the two bunnies. "Sorry." She mumbled sourly as she back down at her phone.

After a few tense seconds, her mother decided to speak up. "What's a matter sweetie?" She asked sweetly, reaching a paw over to grab Judy's unoccupied one from the bed.

"Nothing's wrong…" She mumbled, defiantly moving her arm away from her touch. Bonnie then looked to her husband for support with pleading eyes.

With a sigh, Stu joined her by the bed, looking to his daughter with concern. "Jude, what's wrong?" He asked.

"I can't believe you guys." She said lightly, finally looking at her parents. "Do you treat others like that too? You didn't even greet him!" Judy exclaimed, throwing her arms up in frustration but grunted in pain from the sudden movement.

Both parents looked at each other before returning their gaze to the frustrated bunny. "Why did you research him anyways?" Judy asked, looking into their eyes with a mixture of disbelief and wonder.

Bonnie closed her eyes and exhaled. She waited a few seconds before answering. "We just wanted to keep you safe… and… we're sorry." She said, guiltily looking down at her lap in shame.

Judy groaned and rubbed her face. She really couldn't stay mad at them, no matter how hard she tried. After living with them so long and with hundreds of other annoying siblings, she'd gotten used to it. "Just promise me you'll get to know him before you jump to conclusions." She asked with a smile.

They didn't say anything, only acknowledging her with a slight nod but still avoided her gaze. Judy shook her head before opening her arms for a hug, which they accepted without hesitation, being extra careful of her wound.

"Love you." Judy said as she embraced them tightly.

"We love you too." Stu said with a hint of sorrow in his voice. Judy chuckled at her father's emotional instability, it never ceased to amaze her. After a few more seconds, they finally let go of each other.

With a half-fake yawn, Judy spoke. "Well, I don't know about you guys but I'm pretty tired." Both parents chuckled, nodding understandingly.

"Of course, we'll leave you be for now but we'll be back later on." Bonnie informed her, grabbing her stuff to prepare to leave.

"And don't think we won't talk about that apartment situation of yours." Her father commanded, waving a disapproving finger her way.

Before she could even get a word out, both her parents were out the door. An unintentional yawn escaped her lips after a few minutes of blankly staring at the pristine white walls. Heeding her body's request, she sat the bag from her lap down onto the tile floors and place her phone on the nearest stand before laying down and resting her eyes.

…

The noise of shuffling woke the exhausted bunny from her slumber. She rubbed her eyes, attempting to allow light enter her pupils.

"Afternoon Ms. Hopps." Greeted the nurse as she checked up on the machines setup around her bed. The deer then went over to the clipboard at the end of the bed and wrote a few notes down.

"Hello…" Judy said as she continued to rub her eyes.

"Are you experiencing any pain, headache, or nausea?" She asked sweetly.

"No… Just tired." She yawned, stretching her arms out but stopping halfway.

"You've got to be careful about your stitches Ms. Hopps." The nurse said with concern as she walked towards the door, opening it on contact. Just before she was about to step out, she turned around and looked to the bunny. "Your friend brought you some food. It's alright for you to eat it as long as you don't have too much. If you experience any of those symptoms, please notify someone immediately. You can use the button on the side of the bed." The deer informed.

"Thank you." Judy said sincerely with a smile. The nurse returned the smile with a nod before leaving the room.

The thought of food made her stomach rumble. As a result, Judy looked to the side of her bed to view the new contents. _Nick..._ She sighed.

She reached a paw over to the table, not to pick up the food, but for her phone. Pressing the button on the side of the device, the machine came to life. First thing she saw on the screen was the sight of the two friends hugging tightly together. In the background, the colorful display of Gazelle's concert played in the distance.

After Bellweather was put behind bars, Gazelle decided that it was time for something to be done to repair the the damages of the sheep. With the help of the ZPD and the city's funding, they hosted a surprise concert for animals all around to enjoy. Because of Precinct 1's close involvement, all members were offered free tickets, courtesy of Gazelle herself. She even offered Judy's own parents and her friend Nick a ticket as a 'thank you'.

Judy remembered the day as if it was yesterday, as she felt the loud thumps of sound flow through her ears as she danced erratically. With a bump of encouragement, Nick soon joined with her. That day she would never forget because she'd never thought she'd see the day her boss opened up so freely to dance spontaneously in the middle of the concert without a care in the world. That, and the companion who was by her side the whole time.

She focused her gaze on the fox in the picture, eyes searching the features on his face. "What is with you Nick?" She asked curiously, thinking back on his sudden departure from the room.

Just before she was about to unlock her phone, a sudden knock echoed through the room. "Come in!" She yelled, turning her curious attention to the door. With the sudden permission, a lumbering buffalo entered the room.

"Chief!" Judy reacted, "I forgot you were coming." She claimed, staring wide eyes at the emotionless mammal.

"Like I said Hopps," He began, sitting down in one of the hospital chairs. "I need your statement." He finished.

"Sure." Judy agreed, setting her phone down on her lap and gave the Chief her full attention. "Uh… Where do I begin?" She asked nervously.

"Just start from the beginning." He commanded, taking out a notepad and pen from his shirt pocket.

"Right… So… once officers were given the green, my partn.. uhr, Officer Ramzee and I began to sweep the back of the warehouse for any sign of weakness." She began, looking to the ceiling in thought. "That was when we spotted the collared children carrying boxes of the illegal substance."

"In the center of the room, stood only one guard holding what I assumed to be a remote. Due to the lack of time in the situation, I acted out and snuck up behind the guard, taking him out with my tranquilizer gun." She stated proudly. The buffalo however was not impressed.

"And where was your partner during this time?" He asked robotically with a raised eyebrow, causing Judy's ears to droop.

"He… told me to wait for backup…" She said quietly.

"And did you?" He pressed, further guilting the bunny.

"No…" She whispered, avoiding the Chief's gaze. He just sighed and shook his head from side to side while mumbling a 'continue'.

"After the guard was neutralized, I obtained the remote and escorted the kids quietly out of the building in the direction we came in. As I followed behind the kits, a nearby guard heard the commotion and opened fire on us… I was caught in the crossfire." She stated, looking down at her injured side.

"So..." The Chief said slowly, "Not only did you disobey your superior, Officer Ramzee, but you also disobeyed _my_ orders and enter the building anyways, regardless of my warnings about entering the situation with nothing but a stun gun." He said, putting away the notepad and pen into the shirt pocket once more.

"I'm sorry Chief." She apologized sincerely as she looked at her paw in her lap.

He sighed before continuing. "Hopps… Ramzee has requested a new partner already. That's the fourth one this month alone." He informed her, making the bunny sink further down into the bed, still avoiding the buffalo's eyes. "I need you to promise me this won't happen again." He said sternly with no room for arguments.

"Yes sir, it won't." She said earnestly, finally meeting his eyes with her own. Satisfied with her answer, the Chief began to stand up and walk to the door. Just like the nurse before, he stopped just as he was about to exit and looked back to Judy.

"Get some rest Hopps, I need my good officers out there." He said before leaving without another word. Judy could've swore she saw a little smile on his face but shrugged it off.

Now she was left alone in the silence of the hospital recovery room with only the thoughts in her mind to keep her company. Naturally, her thoughts returned to previous topic. She looked over to the table beside the bed and saw the box once more.

Reaching an arm over, she pulled the box toward her and opened it. A smile spread across her face when she saw the contents; a lush, green salad covered in a special dressing with a plastic wrapped fork on the side. She knew exactly who the food came from.

"Thank you Nick…" She said before digging into her food. He always looked out for her. Even at the academy, he still took time out of his schedule just to make sure she was alright.

She reached down to her phone in her lap and unlocked the screen to view the most recent text from her favorite fox. Nothing could tear the smile from her face.

...

Well, almost nothing...

"NICK!"

* * *

After leaving the hospital, the lone fox Nicholas Wilde took his sweet time walking back to the academy, hoping to skip out on most of the lessons. Upon his return, it was already time for the cadets to eat some lunch, as well as take a break from the constant training. Due to Nick already eating before, he currently sat at his usual table with nothing more than his phone and a cold water bottle.

Nick wasted his time by playing on his phone and searching through his account on Furbook, commenting on new posts and reading up on the most recent news. Across from him sat Bella who hesitantly ate her food little by little. A sudden burst of uncontrollable laughter caught the poor sheep off guard and caused her to jump a few inches.

After a few seconds of calming himself down, Nick finally looked up to the confused sheep with a devious smile. Lifting up his phone, he showed the black sheep the contents of the screen.

The first thing that caught her eye was the image of a bunny's mouth gaping wide open as she lay stretched out on a hospital bed. To the top right of the image, the figure of a fox's head could be seen as his green eyes stare brightly at the camera with a sly smile. Her eyes darted lower as they read the next couple of texts visible.

 **Nick:** _Did you know you snore. ;) I set some real food on the table. Trust me, the food here sucks._

 **Judy:** _NICK! Delete that right now or so help me carrots…_

Bella giggled at the picture and her reaction, shaking her head side to side at the mischievous fox. "She'll kill you if you don't delete that you know." Bella finally said.

"Oh I know. That's why I took 4 more, just in case." Nick replied with a wink as he typed rapidly on the phone.

 **Nick:** _Even you must admit that is a little funny…_

 **Judy:** _No! Delete that now!_

 **Nick:** _Aww c'mon fluff. Even Bella thought that was funny._

Nick didn't have to wait long before Judy rapidly sent him another text.

 **Judy:** _Did you show her that?! Nick!_

 **Nick:** _What? She was curious._

 **Judy:** _Nick…_

… _: Delete._

… _: That._

… _: Right._

… _: Now._

The fox snickered at her response before going into his gallery and deleting one of the photos. As an added measure, he turned the phone over to the sheep so she could view that he was true to his word before he sent her another text.

 **Nick:** _Fine, as you wish. It has been erased off of my phone. ;)_

 **Judy:** _And how do I know you're not lying?_

 **Nick:** _You wound me… If you must know, Bella saw me delete it. Scout's honor._

A few seconds past before Judy finally responded to his text, bringing a smile to the fox's face.

 **Judy:** _Dumb fox..._

"Shoot! Look at the time, we better head out before we get in trouble." Bella announced, standing up from her seat with the tray in her hooves. Nick nodded understandingly as he mimicked the action, standing up from his position himself.

"Where ya goin fox? Off to see your girlfriend again?" A certain bull called out. Instead of replying, Nick decided only to roll his eyes and walk out without looking back.

"Poor cute little bunny… Maybe that'll teach her to stick with carrots." He chuckled behind the fox's back. This comment caused Nick's heart to burn like an inferno as he made an abrupt stop. He slowly turned around to face the bull but a hoof on his shoulder stopped him midway from doing anything irrational. Together, both Nick and Bella walked out of the cafeteria and out to the mess hall without another word.

…

Nick currently was walking back to the dorms after a few sparing matches. He was thankfully excused by the instructor to allow him to retrieve a rather large book from his room. He promised the instructor that he would continue on sparing later but he wanted to do some studying on the police codes. That was only half of the reason, the other half was because he wanted some time to think about the sudden mood change at the bull's comment.

The last time he ever felt that feeling was when his mom was being pushed around as she tried to buy groceries when he was nothing more than a kit. The moose manager refused to sell the poor family a single item from his store and quickly pushed the two out of the store, using more force than necessary. At the time, Nick didn't understand what was going on, but he knew one thing for certain; No one hurts my mom.

So the question was, why did he react in such a way to that comment? Words never bothered him before, and they didn't even bother him now. Afterall, they are just words, they can't cause him any harm, just someone's opinion. So why did they now?

If it weren't for Bella's concerned hoof, he would've verbally flipped out on the bull, making sure to emphasize that if she were healed, she could take him down in no time at all and without even breaking a sweat.

It wasn't just his second comment that bothered him. The fact that he called Judy little sounded to him like the word had more meaning behind it than its direct definition. Nick could've also swarn the use of the c-word fueled a bit of his rage too, but he couldn't be sure. Anything that bull would've said in that moment could be counted as offensive.

He was so deep into his thoughts, he didn't even process him entering his room, grabbing the book from under his bed and him heading out the door. The blow of a whistle snapped him out of his thoughts as he found himself inside the gym once more.

Looking to the ring at the center of the gym, he saw the stripped horse figure of Kenya fighting toe to toe with Luna, each dealing some heavy punches to one another.

Turning his attention away from the ring, Nick looked around the room for a quiet place to study, away from any distractions. In his search, he spotted a lone fluffy black sheep, hovering in the corner with a book sat comfortably on her lap.

Seeing the opportunity, he began to walk up to the sheep.

"Mind if I join you?" He eventually called out, slightly startling the sheep.

"Oh! Sure." She agreed, scooting slightly over as an invitation for him to sit next to her. Taking her offer, he shuffled over to her side before plopping down.

"So, what are you on right now?" Nick asked, opening his own textbook to the page full of codes.

"Uhhh, 495." She responded without looking up from her book as she was in deep concentration.

After a bit of searching, Nick finally spotted the code. "Ah, burglary." He nodded approvingly. "How much have you learned so far?" He questioned as he took out a black piece of paper from inside the book and reaching in his pocket for the bright orange carrot pen.

"I've got a few memorized, there's still a few I get mixed up on." She responded all without her eyes leaving the book. The sounds of scribbles threw her off her train of thought as she looked questionably up to the fox.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she stared at the black and red limb scribble down notes with the famous carrot pen in paw.

"Just taking down notes. This way I can study over these without having to chug this big thing around." He informed, lifting up the book to allow her sight of the cover.

"That looks thicker than the copy I have… Where did you get it?" She wondered.

"This was Judy's old book. She gave it to me so I don't have to use the borrowed copies here." He said while he turned the book to the first page and showed it to Bella. The first thing she noticed was Judy's first and last name written neatly on the top right corner of the page.

"She bought her own copy?" She asked in disbelief.

"Of course. I swear that bunny doesn't even know the definition of normal." Nick chuckled as he flipping the book back to his previous page easily with the use of his pre-placed paw.

"I agree with you on that one. She just doesn't know when to quit." She agreed with a smile.

"You should've seen the time when she tried to get me to try a carrot." Nick said, waving the pen in front of him to emphasize his story. "She wouldn't stop pestering me all day until I eventually gave in." He chuckled with a dreamy sigh at the memory.

Bella looked at him with an unreadable neutral expression before shaking her head and bringing her thoughts back to the book in her lap.

"What?"

* * *

 **Timeskip - 1 week later…**

 **Judy:** _Ugh! I'm so bored!_

Nick chuckled down at his phone as he read the recent text from Judy.

 **Nick:** _I wonder what will happen if I just stopped texting to you._

 **Judy:** _No please! I think I'd die of boredom._

 **Nick:** _Haha, relax. Don't you get out today anyways?_

 **Judy:** _Yes! But I have to wait on my parents first…_

"WILDE!" Shouted the instructor, quickly breaking the fox's attention from his phone. "How many times do I have to tell you? Get off that damn phone and get in this arena already." She ordered sourly, amplifying the mood by crossing her arms to her chest.

"Alright alright, don't get your trunk in a twist." He chuckled, quickly typing away at his phone before he sat it down and put on his gloves.

"You've been on that phone all day. It's not gonna kill ya to set it down once in awhile." Echo said from inside the ring. The fox chuckled as he jumped into the ring with him.

"You ready to get floored?" Nick asked confidently as he held out his arm. The arctic wolf responded by holding out his own arm and moved forward to allow the gloves to touch, signalling they were both ready.

"You're the one who's gonna be laying on this floor when the match is over." He said, equally as confident as Nick.

"BEGIN ON MY SIGNAL!" The instructor called out, reading her whistle. The opponents got into their stances as they waited for the cue, both intently staring at each other with devious smiles.

The sound of the whistle echoed through the room, beginning the match. Both foes didn't wait a second before they began to exchange punches, both blocking every blow without them landing a hit.

"I think your sister hits harder than you." Nick playfully taunted with a smile.

"Says the guy who's losing." He claimed, throwing a surprise punch to the fox's way. The punch landed a blow on his abdomen, slightly pushing the fox back.

"Ugh…" He grunted, "Who said I was losing?" He smirked while returning to the fist fight.

"Would you two shut up and fight?" The instructor called out aggressively.

"As you wish ma'am!" Nick called out as he casually threw punches to keep the wolf busy. Due to their height differences, the fox had to aim slightly higher to even reach Echo's stomach. Echo on the other paw had to crouch a bit lower and throw his punches even lower to reach Nick's.

Purposefully, Nick let down his guard for a split second, baiting the wolf to take it. Reluctantly, the wolf wasted no time to throw a punch to the opening direction. Before the padded glove could even touch the fox, he swiftly maneuvered away from the blow and to the side of the wolf.

Thanks to the wolf's effort with a power punch, his guard was left down as he stumbled to recover. Wasting no time, Nick positioned his tail in front of the wolf's legs and hit him hardly on the back. This move easily caused the wolf to stumble forward from the sudden force. Due to the tail, the poor wolf lost his footing and landed face first on the mat.

Ending the matches as Nick usually did, the fox quickly hopped on the white furred mammal's back and locked both arms into place in a strong hold.

"TIME! 28 seconds. Not bad Wilde, you're getting better." The elephant called out while looking down at the stopwatch in her trunk. Acknowledging the end of the match, Nick got off of the wolf and offered a paw in assistance, which Echo took.

"Woah Nick, that tail of yours is _really_ soft. It felt as if I was falling on a pile of pillows." Echo chuckled as he wiped the dust off his clothes.

"Ugh…" A groan came from outside the arena. Looking to the commotion, both canines saw Kenya offering a stack of bills to Luna in defeat. With a beaming smile, she accepted the money without hesitation.

"You bet _against_ me?!" Echo asked in disbelief.

"Say Nick," Luna began, completely ignoring her brother. "Mind if I pet your tail? I wanna see how soft it is."

Nick was taken back by the sudden request but responded quickly. "Nuh-uh, no can do. You can't just touch a fox's tail." He said with closed eyelids and the wave of his finger.

Luna just looked down and began mumbled to herself as she walked away from the arena. Nick chuckled before hopping out of the arena and throwing his gloves off. Reaching down to the bench, the fox picked up his phone from the wooden surface.

"Aaaannndddd back on his phone. What do you do on that thing all the time anyways?" Echo called out.

"Brag about how easily I won that match, as always." Nick replied matter-of-factly with the slight shake of his head in the process.

"I'll get you next time!" Echo groaned with a chuckle.

Nick just sat down and typed out a text to Judy before powering it off and pulling out the folded piece of paper from his pockets to study from.

* * *

 **Judy:** _Ugh! I'm so bored!_

Judy typed out quickly before flopping on her hospital bed with a groan. After spending a week alone in a hospital room with nothing but your parents and your phone to keep you company, she was more than ready to leave. She was hoping that comment would strike up a conversation with the fox because he always made it seem as if time sped up for her.

Her wound on her side seemed to have recovered significantly, allowing her to go home a bit earlier than normal. Some pain was still present but was much more bearable than before. Only real sign of a wound being the shaven fur of her side and the patches of cloth attached to her abdomen. The doctors still recommended that she should spend an extra week, just to be safe but after giving the watery eyes to her parents, they agreed to take care of her. This was on one condition of course; she had to come to Bunnyburrow for her recovery. Desperate to get out, she accepted it.

The sound of buzzing brought her attention back to her phone as she read the recent text from Nick.

 **Nick:** _I wonder what will happen if I just stopped texting to you._

 **Judy:** _No please! I think I'd die of boredom._

 **Nick:** _Haha, relax. Don't you get out today anyways?_

 **Judy:** _Yes! But I have to wait on my parents first…_

She sighed, looking up to the closed door of her recovery room. Judy had been waiting for a good extra hour for her parents to show up, but they still haven't, further frustrating the bunny.

 **Nick:** _Poor widdle bunny needs her parents paw to leave. Anyways, I need to go, the elephant calls. This wolf over here is just asking for my fist. Wish me luck! ;)_

Judy shook her head and giggled at the new text. Her ears then perked at the sound of the door knob turning, easily catching the bored bunny's attention.

"Mom! Dad! What took you guys so long?" She asked with a hug.

"Sorry honey! We got so caught up in exploring the city, we almost forgot we were picking you up today." Her mom chuckled, smiling warmly to her daughter.

"Almost." Stu chimed in. "We even think we found some decent apartments for you while we were out." He stated proudly.

Judy groaned in response. " _Dad!_ I already told you I was fine with the one I already have." She complained, but it was no use.

"Oh no you don't! We could barely walk around inside that place. We could even hear your neighbors through the wall!" He said firmly. "Now c'mon, your younger siblings are waiting. We already got you checked out." He informed as he brought a wheelchair up to her.

"I can walk fine!" She claimed, refusing to sit.

"It's hospital policy sweetie." Her mother said with the shake of her head. With a frustrated groan, she stubbornly sat down in the chair and pulled out her phone to keep her occupied.

Noticing there was another text from Nick, she eagerly read the message.

 **Nick:** _28 seconds, not bad. I'm coming for that record of yours and there isn't anything you can do about it. :P_

She stare wide eyes at her screen with a surprised look on her face. He was catching up quickly. If he beats her record there, he'll have most her records beaten. And here he was, openly shoving that fact in her face.

"UGH! I'ma kill that fox!"

* * *

 **Just a bit of fluff chapter, and me testing out this new point of view thing. I hope I did alright. But I guarantee you'll like what I have planned next chapter. Hehe Please leave a review and tell me what you thought!**

 **There's only 2 chapters left of Nick being at the academy! What in the world would I have planned in such a short time that would be worthwhile? Follow/favorite and you'll find out! ;)**

 **For those who already followed and/or favorited, I can't thank you enough. Really, the support means a lot. The only thing I can really do that I think is worth the exchange is offer you another chapter :) I really do hope you enjoy!**

 _ **MetalFox2013 -**_ **Only two words but they are full of meaning for me. I'm really glad you liked that chapter!**

 _ **Story Writer 2015 -**_ **Hey! Welcome to the story! I'm really glad you're liking it so far. :P Stick with me and I'll let you know who that pesky thief is :3**

 _ **Pedo-Sandwich -**_ **Haha, interesting name :P And cool, thank you for answering my question. I'll take your request into consideration :)**

 _ **KevinStone -**_ **Sure! I tried that out this chapter, what did you think? First time for everything lol**

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ **Very soon the thief will get their Justice… And do you know** _ **really**_ **who it is? Hehe**

 _ **Illabolixs -**_ **I'm really happy that you are enjoying the story. And Her questioning what Nick has done for her in the past shall come. All part of the plan :)**

 **MinscLovesBoo - All really great ideas. I tried out that perspective thing here. And I have a complex plan for her parents already set in motion too c: *innocent smile* I'll keep in mind that imprinting thing, really good idea/thought there. Might come through.**

 _ **Junick is awesome -**_ **You're very much welcome! And haha, that is the exact reaction I wanted to get out of everyone. :P**

 _ **Zootopia fan of fiction -**_ **It's no problem :)**

 _ **MrAndersIversen**_ **\- Your wish is my command. I think you'll like the plans for next chapter as much as you did Chapter 8. Why do you think I was craving to write that chapter so much since chapter 4? :P Thank you for your support!**

 **Before I go, I'd like to give another HUGE shout out to** _ **ice of darkness.**_ **Because of their help, I have a solid plan on what I will be planning to do for the next chapters of my story. They've been a really big help. Another shout out must be given for** _ **NickelAz**_ **for being my first and 50th (funny story lol) follower. He's also been the one who has been pre-reading my chapters to make sure there is no mistakes. He is currently writing a story called 'Fall of Savage' so if you are interested, go ahead and check it out. Thank you both a ton!**

 **Once again edited by NickelAz! Big thanks!**


	10. Justice

**.**

 **This chapter took me all day to write. Thanks to your reviews, it was easy for me to continue on and finish this chapter. I hope you guys enjoy this little chapter… Okay maybe it's slightly longer than normal but I'm sure you won't mind. :)**

 **Also, for those of you who are curious (And I have no idea why you would be.) There will be no domestic cats or dogs in my story what so ever. Those are evolved species that were under the influence of humans. For example, dogs were specially bred to fit their needs. Since they don't exist in my story, the only dogs you'll see is wolves. Period.**

 **I've also decided to change my image of this story if you can't tell already. I figured the new image would match more of my story's title: Doors of Change and it looks way cooler!**

 **Enough of me! Enjoy this story! Next chapter? Graduation...**

* * *

"Ugh!" Nick moaned, slamming his head down onto the table in front of him in the process.

" _C'mon Nick, it's easy. You've got to get this right."_ Judy's voice rang through Nick's pointy ears. Nick looked up with emotionless eyes at the phone on the table.

"Easy for you to say miss elephant's memory. You've already got this stuff memorized." Nick complained.

" _I'm pretty sure that's offensive to elephants."_ Retorted Judy back.

"Judy's right you know. It's not that hard." Bella agreed as she returned the police academy book back to Nick's view. The fox then raised a questioning eyebrow at the sheep after he finished reading the page.

"Wait... I got that one right! 211, that's what it says here. What gives?" He asked stubbornly, crossing his arms in the process.

" _We told you to give the code for Robbery Alarm, silent. That's just Robbery."_ Judy said as if she was teaching a kid in school. Both Bella and Judy giggled as Nick groaned and slammed his head on the table once more.

Nick then looked at the page again. "What?" Nick wheezed breathlessly. "The code for that is 211 S… _Seriously_ …" He said unimpressively while picking up the phone to allow the camera to face the fox.

"Yup! As simple as that." Bella giggled.

" _Like we said, it's really not that hard."_

"Uh-huh…" He hummed. "And let's just say something is an attempt. What? Do they just add an 'A' to the end of the code." Nick asked sarcastically with the roll of his eyes.

" _Yes, well for most of the codes! But see, I knew you were starting to get the hang of this!"_ Judy cheered loudly.

"Yup. That's me, totally getting the hang of this." He responded with false pride.

"Don't worry. You'll get it eventually." Bella encouraged as she snatched the book back from the fox's grasp. Nick slammed his fist down on the table in disappointment, whining in the process.

" _Alright, what about… Indecent exposure…"_ Suggested Judy.

"314." Nick replied almost instantly.

" _Huh?"_ Said both other occupants of the conversation, wondering why the sudden response compared to the other codes.

Nick turned his head to the side a little, curious at their response. After a little bit of thinking, he finally realized their confusion, eyes growing wide in the process. "What? It's not what you think! I only remember that one because it's hard to forget a naked animal… and the code reminds me of pi…" He claimed defensively with a shrug, raising his arms in the air in surrender.

Both females didn't seem to buy the story, only nodding with a 'uh-huh' before returning their attention back to their task at paw.

"Why can't we just say the word?" Nick complained.

" _What if someone was listening to the radio?"_ Judy answered with another question. Nick didn't respond, only slamming his head on the table again for what it seemed to be the hundredth time.

" _Judy! Could you come and help me prepare dinner?"_ A voice called out from the phone. " _Oh! Sure thing!"_ Judy called back before returning her attention to her own phone. " _Sorry guys, I've gotta go."_ With that, the call ended.

Nick raised his head from the table to look at the sheep. "Wait, she can cook?" He asked curiously with fake surprise.

"Don't let Judy hear you say that." Bella giggled while she closed the police textbook and returned it to its rightful owner. "I think it's time for your daily muzzle therapy." She said sympathetically.

Choosing not to respond, Nick just slammed his head on the table before sighing. Obediently, he shuffled out from the table and followed behind the black sheep through the gym. "Let's get this over with."

"You know the drill." Bella said as she brought a muzzle from the red cabinet from the gym.

"Yea, yea." Nick replied unenthusiastically. Exhaling deeply, Nick took the metal device from the sheep's hooves and inspected it. No physical change in the fox's behavior could be seen by Bella. As an added measure to show his mood, Nick started to toss the muzzle up and down in his paws while he looked at Bella with a smirk.

"Not bad, that's definitely an improvement." Bella congratulated with an approving nod.

"Now can we please get back to the book? Judy is having way too much fun shoving the fact I don't know something she does in my face." Nick asked while attempting to give the muzzle back to the sheep.

"Not so fast…" She said while pushing his paw away from her. "I… I actually wanted to try something new today…" She said quietly, lifting an arm in the air as a signal.

* * *

"Coming!" Judy yelled throughout the household while stuffing her phone into her pocket. Slowly and carefully, Judy navigated out of the cluster of brothers and sisters that surrounded her in the lounging room and into the hallway.

Once Judy was sure she wouldn't accidently kick one of her rambunctious siblings, she picked up her pace and began to speed walk to the kitchen. Even in the large hallways of the Hopp's household, she still managed to encounter a few of her rabbit family along the way.

A small tug brought her attention downward to the group of kids hopping up and down in excitement.

"Yes?" She asked sweetly, turning her attention to the couple of kids.

"Play with us Judy! Play with us!" One of them answered to Judy while receiving nods from the others.

The older rabbit chuckled at their behavior, shaking her head from side to side before replying. "I'm sorry, I can't. I've got to go help our mom with dinner. Aren't you guys hungry?"

"Oh, yeah! Very much." They responded as they rapidly nodded their heads, causing their bunny ears to flop around in the air.

Judy chuckled at them, ruffling a bit of their heads as she weaved through the group. "Maybe Jeremy wants to play." She suggested with a sly smile, receiving gasps from the bunnies before the sound of running followed.

She smiled at the warm feeling that now filled her heart. Home. No matter how long she had been gone, nothing ever changed. The kids always ran throughout the household, bugging the older rabbits to do other activities with them. Even old uncle Charlie still sat in his beloved rocking chair and told stories of his adventures to any willing ear.

The occasional shouting from an argument somewhere inside the labyrinth could be heard. The sound of dishes clanking introduced itself into Judy's ears as she neared the kitchen. Once she got to the archway of the door, the sound of a plate breaking echoed. _Home…_

"Clean that mess up right now Jessica. Just because you're in a bad mood doesn't mean you have to destroy plates." Bonnie scolded the younger bunny, who now ran to go get a broom.

To Judy, the kitchen didn't seem like much. But for any other city animal, it seemed like it was built for an army. Countless other little rabbits ran in and out of the large area, helping prepare dinner in every way they could, occasionally stealing a taste.

Bonnie, the leader of said army, was currently looking through the industrial grade refrigerator. Looking at it from such a distance, Judy thought that if one of her siblings were to close it right now, no one would ever know she was inside it in the first place. With a small giggle, Judy eventually called out, introducing herself to the ever busy kitchen.

"Is she upset that you interrupted her free time to do the dishes again?" Judy's voice slightly startled the aged rabbit, causing her to hit her head on one of the many shelves of the fridge.

"Oh, Judy! I didn't see you there." She chuckled, "Yea, interrupted her play time."

Judy hummed understandingly. "How's your side honey?" Bonnie asked with a wavy voice.

"It's fine mom. A little pain here and there if I stretch it wrong but other than that, it's good." She replied with a caring smile, grateful for her mother's care. The sudden push of one of her younger brothers against her legs brought her out of her trance as he tried to get past Judy. "You said you needed some help?" She asked.

"Yes please! Can you be a dear and cut those bell peppers over there. Can't have the little ones handling the knives yet." The older rabbit asked sweetly, pointing in the direction of a chopping board with a dozen peppers to the side of it.

"Sure thing mom. What are we having tonight anyways?" Judy asked curiously as she made her way over to the counter and began to gut them of their seeds.

A couple of kids responded before their mother could. "Vegetable soup!" They shouted enthusiastically.

"So Judy, how's the city?" The eldest asked, striking up conversation.

"It's pretty good. Different though."

"Really? How so?" She asked with interest.

"Well…" Judy began, looking up to the curved ceiling in thought, stopping her task in the process. "For starters, the type of animals around are very different. Back here there are mainly bunnies. But over there, there isn't a majority. If anything, it's larger animals; deers, elks, wolves, cows… You get what I mean…" She chuckled.

"Well, there must be a few rabbits over there… You meeting someone?" Her mother asked curiously.

"Ugh…" Judy complained, "Yes, there are a few rabbits in Zootopia but no, I am not meeting someone."

"You can't wait forever." She replied matter-of-factly.

"I know but I'm still a bit new to the city and my job. Just… allow me to take it at my own pace, alright?"

"Alright," she agreed with a smile before she pushed on more. "How's the city treating you?"

"Pretty good." Judy responded easily, leaving out the rude speciest comments she received almost daily. The bunny didn't want to worry her mother after what already happened. "Been great with Nick around."

"The fox from the hospital?" Her mom asked hesitantly.

The injured rabbit gave the 'are you serious' look to her mother. "Yes… that fox." She said with a sigh. Realizing what she said, her mother stopped her current task and looked to the empty counter for comfort.

"I'm sorry sweetie… I'm just not used to be so close to another… uh, predator." Bonnie said shamefully.

With a heavy exhale, Judy dropped the knife onto the cutting board and walked over to her mother. "I know, and I also know you're trying too." Judy said with a smile, hugging her mother from behind.

"You'll have to bring him over sometime, you know." Her mom said, accepting the hug.

Breaking herself from the hug, the officer went back to chopping the helpless vegetables before responding. "I know, and I will. But right now he's at the police academy."

"Really?" Bonnie asked breathlessly, startled by the new information.

"Yup! If we can convince the chief, he'll be my new police partner." The bunny stated joyfully.

From that moment on, the conversation ceased to continue. This was because both of the contributors of the discussion were too deep in their thoughts. The older bunny mind rambled at the thought of having such an animal so close to her daughter at work. While the other bunny's thoughts were occupied by the countless scenarios of daily tasks at the ZPD.

A new image presented itself into the bunny's joyful mind of an unamused fox walking throughout the streets of Zootopia, wearing a bright orange vest and a small little ball hat to top it all off.

She giggled at the thought. "There! A dozen diced bell peppers." Judy announced proudly. "Anything else?"

"Nope, I think that's it. Thank you." Informed Bonnie while grabbing the bowl of vegetables in the process. Judy turned around and was just about to leave the kitchen when her mother called out to her one last time. "Oh! I almost forgot."

"What is it?" Judy asked curiously.

"Could you drive down to this address here. They ordered a few vegetables and there isn't anyone else available right now." Her mother wiped her paws on her kitchen apron before pulling out a folded piece of paper from its pockets.

"Sure! Where's the keys?" Agreed Judy.

"I left them over by the front door. Should be on the table in the hallway."

With a nod, Judy lightly jogged out of the kitchen. "I'll be back!"

"And Judy?" Her mother quickly called out before her daughter was out of earshot. Peaking around the doorway, she listened to what her mother had to say. "Don't be picking up those boxes yourself. Vet's orders." She scolded.

With a light chuckle, Judy nodded and headed out the door.

…

"Ah! Here we are…" Judy told herself as she carefully parked the truck onto the side of the road. Stepping out of the driver side door, she was greeted with the peaceful structure of an ordinary Bunnyburrow home.

To outsiders, these homes would normally startle them, due to the fact that they looked like a large mound of dirt with windows. But on the inside, the occupants were usually greeted with fancy wooden carvings and decorative hallways. Personally, Judy's home was decorated with various bunny shaped carvings and designs. A topic guaranteed to get teased by, especially from a certain fox. Around said structure lay fast lands of empty fields, ready for crops.

Bringing her attention away from the vacant fields, Judy spotted an incoming male rabbit, casually walking toward the vehicle. A small part of her consciousness spouted a seed of suspicion, but she wasn't exactly sure yet why.

"Hello!" Judy greeted politely, not allowing her thoughts to showcase themselves.

"Hey." He responded friendly. "Is this the shipment of produce we ordered from the Hopps?" He asked, eyes wandering past the bunny.

"Yup!" Judy said before she hopped over to the tail of the truck and opened the gate. Right as she finished this duty, a question suddenly popped into her head. "Wait, you have farms all around your place… Why do you need someone else's produce?"

"We had a bad harvest, not enough to feed the family. Hopefully this will last us awhile." He responded.

"Why haven't you replanted then?" She asked curiously.

"Winter's approaching. Too cold to be growing crops right now." Judy facepalmed at the reasoning.

"Right, forgot." She sighed and watched the single bunny pull the crates off the end of the truck. "Uh… I'd like to help you… but I can't." She informed helplessly.

"That's okay, I think I got this. Why though? If that's alright to ask." He replied while dusting off his paws before grabbing the next crate from the truck.

"No, it's fine. I actually was shot a week ago." Judy responded with a slight shrug. Her response slightly caught the other rabbit off guard, causing him to stumble a little with his load but caught his balance before he fell.

"What now?"

"My bad…" Judy giggled, "I'm a police officer in Zootopia." She informed the startled rabbit.

"Ah, that explains it. If someone would've shot anyone around here, I'm sure everyone would've known already." He chuckled.

The doe giggled with an understanding nod. With being mainly family animals and living in a small community, secrets were rarely kept. If anything different happened, everyone would know. Judy thought this was because nothing interesting ever usually happened. The smallest little thing would peak the interest of any bored animal around these parts.

"I never caught your name by the way." The buck said as he finished unloading the last box from the bed of the truck.

"Oh! Judy, Judy Hopps." She announced, offering a paw to shake.

"Aaron Cobalt." He greeted, accepting the paw in the process. "Say, aren't you that Judy Mrs. Hopps kept talking to me about?"

And there it was… Judy now fully understood her previous suspicions. _Of course she should…_ Judy thought sadly. It was all a setup from her mother. No wonder she asked the question if she was seeing someone earlier. Noticing Aaron was still waiting for an answer, she shook herself from her thoughts.

"Sorry, lost in my thoughts." Judy admitted, rubbing her arm in the process. "And, ah, yea. That'd be me." She admitted sheepishly.

"Really? Well, are you doing anything later today?" Aaron eagerly asked while closing the door to the bed of the truck.

"Yea..." Judy lied, "Sorry, maybe some other time." She apologized politely.

"Sure! Well, thanks for delivering this stuff to us but I better get these boxes refrigerated before they start going bad. See ya later?" He outstretched a paw.

"Yea, sure. See you later." She agreed, shaking his paw in the process. With a heavy sigh, Judy opened the door to the truck and hopped in.

As she drove out of view from the house, her thoughts were occupied by a different matter. He seemed nice enough at first glance but she wished her mom would stay out of her private life.

One thing was for certain, her mother was definitely hearing from her.

* * *

"What do you want to try Fluff?" Nick asked with the slight turn of his head. The sound of footsteps, along with claws hitting across the concrete floor drew the fox's attention. Turning around, Nick was met with a familiar white wolf.

"Hey Nick." He greeted with a slight wave. The presence of the wolf only confused the fox even more.

"Hey?" He said before turning his head back toward Bella, hoping for an explanation.

In return, she breathed out heavily before speaking. "Echo here… uh, volunteered for us." Bella responded vaguely.

"Volunteered? For what?" He chuckled, "Seriously would someone please-" He stopped once he looked down at the device in his paws. After a few seconds, he rapidly looked between Bella and Echo with wide eyes.

Seeing his reaction, she confirmed his suspicions. "Nick… I want you to- to put the muzzle on Echo."

The fox now made eye contact with the arctic wolf, this time, his eyes were covered in concern and hesitation.

Echo shrugged before placing a comforting paw on Nick's shoulder. "I'll be fine. This is for you, not me."

"Are you sure?" He asked suspiciously. The wolf calmly nodded before he knelt down in front of the fox, lowering his head in the process to allow easy access.

Nick then looked to Bella for support, who said nothing but gave a reassuring nod. With a shaky sigh, he lifted the muzzle up with his paws and brought it towards Echo's face.

As he inched closer, the fox could start to feel his heartbeat, which unsteadily quickened in speed with each passing second. The background of his surroundings seemed to fade away, being replaced by the familiar scene of the Ranger Scout basement.

Nick hesitated when his mind played tricks on him and changed the appearance of the white wolf before him. Slowly but surely, his body morphed into that of a small and helpless fox. Staring at the animal in disbelief, he took note of the green uniform the crying fox wore. Only a few seconds later, Nick's vision started to darken on the outer rims. At this point, he needed to open his mouth to breathe in order to stop himself from passing out.

Bella's comforting hoof snapped him out of his daydream, bringing the original surroundings back to light. Looking up to her, she gave him a supporting smile and motioned her head back to his current task.

Breathing in deeply and exhaling, Nick brought the muzzle up to Echo's face, quickly strapping it onto him, making sure that it was loose. Once it was on, the fox removed his shaking paws from the wolf's face and cautiously stepped back.

Nick then watched Echo stand up from his kneeling position and chuckled. "See, that wasn't so hard." The wolf said as best as he could from behind the muzzle.

"Yup! Only froze up once. Good job, that's definitely an improvement." Bella complimented before helping the wolf remove the muzzle.

The sounds of clapping from behind the mammals drew their attention away from their own conversation. Looking back, they saw Kenya, Luna, and Max all clapping in congratulations. _I could get used to this…_ Nick thought warmly at the idea of having genuine friends, who would be there for him if he needed them. _If…_ He still wasn't too keen on the idea of relying on others.

"What's going on here?" Said the instructor with her booming voice. Her sudden introduction caught the recruits off guard, causing the slightly jumpier ones to… well jump.

Once they recovered, Echo decided to speak up. "Uh, Wilde here is progressing on using muzzles ma'am."

After listening to Echo's explanation, she turned to the fox with a raised eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Guilty as charged ma'am." Nick said with an exaggerated bow.

Unimpressed by the fox's show, she turned away from him and looked to the others inside the gym. "ALRIGHT CADETS!" The instructor shouted. The recruits nearest to her lowered their ears in an attempt to stop the ringing due to being so close to the source of the noise. "Great work today, I expect to see some improvement tomorrow! Have a good night." With that, the instructor turned away and left everyone to their thoughts.

"I swear, if she keeps doing that, we're gonna go deaf." Nick finally said once she was out of earshot, which was quite a distance due to her large ears.

"No kidding." Echo chuckled, "Well, I'ma head off now. That fight with Ryan really tired me out. See ya later guys." Said the wolf as he excused himself from the group.

A collect set of 'goodbyes' were exchanged between the cadets as they each departed to their own business. A few walked out of the gym and into the cafeteria in hopes to get a quick meal while others disappeared to the respective restrooms for a nice, calming shower. Nick on the other paw, walked in the direction of the dorms with his phone in his paw. Scrolling through his contacts, he dialed a familiar number.

After two rings, she finally picked up. "Hello?" Judy asked.

"Yes hi, I'd like to order a standard grasshopper pizza."

"Nick… The inside of your ear looks fascinating, but could you use the camera properly?" Judy sighed, causing Nick to smirk as he opened the door to his room.

Bring the phone down from the side of his head, the fox smiled into the camera. "Hey Carrots."

"Hey… Wait, why did you call so early? It's only…. 7:08 PM." She asked while checking her bedside clock.

"What?" Nick said with the quiver of his bottom lip, giving her the puppy eyes. "I can't call you earlier than planned?" He whimpered.

"Oh please don't give me those eyes. I was just curious. Did something happen?" She giggled.

"As a matter of fact, something did happen."

"What happened?" Judy asked drowsily with an exaggerated yawn.

Snickering at her response, he spoke. "Well, turns out I'm making progress with muzzles."

"Wait, really?! That's great Nick!" She shouted, completely forgetting her previous act. "Now all that's left for you is those codes."

"Of course you'd bring that up." Nick chuckled with the shake of his head. "How's it been back home for you?" He said, easily changing the subject.

"Ugh…" She grunted, looking away from the camera.

"Ready to come back to the city?" Nick teased with a sly smile.

"More than ready… You will not believe what my mother did." She groaned, dropping her smile in the process.

"Did she give you a long lecture on how dangerous the city is?" He guessed, trying to get that smile back on her face.

"No…"

"Feed you till your belly exploded?"

"No." Judy giggled.

"Wrap you in bubblewrap?" Asked dumbfoundingly.

"No Nick!" She laughed. _Bingo…_ "She tried to set me up with another bunny." Judy explained.

Ever so slightly, Nick's smile faltered as an unknown feeling built up at the bottom of his stomach, causing his fur on the fox's neck to spike up. "She did?" He managed to sputter out.

"Yea, she's all worried that I'll be alone for the rest of my life. But I just moved to the city!" She shouted while rubbing her forehead.

"Well, how was he?" He curiously asked, more than trying to tease.

"He was alright I guess… But I don't think I'm ready for that stuff yet." She said uncomfortably.

Seeing her discomfort, Nick changed the subject again. "How's that country air doing for you? Anything change?"

"No… That's the thing, nothing's changed..." Said Judy with a heavy exhale. "It's me."

"Change isn't necessarily a bad thing." He replied matter-of-factly.

"I know… It's just…" Judy trailed off, trying to think of the right word.

"Scary?" Nick finished easily, knowing exactly where she's going.

"Yea, scary." She agreed, staring into Nick's emerald eyes.

A knock on Nick's bedroom door surprised both fox and rabbit. Getting up from his sitting position, Nick went to go open the door. Peaking through it, he was greeted with a striped, orange tiger.

"Snowflake?" Nick asked curiously, not expecting the tiger to show up at his door.

"Hey Nick. Sorry to bother you at this hour, but could you help me with something?" He asked politely.

"Yea, sure. Sorry Carrots. I'll call you back later." Nick said, staring down at the phone in his paw.

"Sure, see ya." Judy said as she parted from the connection. Once the call ended, Nick stuffed his phone in his pocket and followed Ryan out the door.

"So, what you need help with?" Nick finally spoke once he was out of the building.

"Hm? Oh, just need help carrying a few things." He responded with a slight shrug. Finding the situation odd, the fox tried to press further.

"What kind of things? I can't really help you with some large objects." Nick joked but the tiger didn't laugh. Instead, he continued to walk on forward, guiding the duo toward the front gate of the academy.

The light up in the sky slowly set itself over the horizon, darkening the atmosphere. A few stars were present in the night time sky while the sweet sound of crickets was the only sound that could be heard. Both tiger and fox stopped once they got to the front gate. Looking for answers, Nick looked up to Ryan as he searched around.

"Huh… He should've been here by now." Ryan thought to himself, tapping his chin in the process while he looked up and down the street. Nick was about to ask who but the sound of crunching leaves interrupted his train of thought. Both predators turned around to see the approaching figure.

"Ah! There you are." Ryan said excitingly, giving a brotherly hug to the bull.

"Told you I'd be here. Had to make sure the coast was clear." Jason chuckled, while Ryan nodded understandingly.

"What's going on?" Nick asked suspiciously stuffing his paws into his pockets.

"Is everything set?" Ryan asked, completely ignoring the fox.

"Yeah, I got everything. Sure you weren't followed?" Jason asked while double checking his satchel on the side of him.

"Definitely, it's as quiet as a mouse out here." The tiger chuckled.

"Good, now we can finally get rid of him." The bull said, waving his arm toward Nick's direction.

Shocked at the sudden mood change, Nick fumbled with his paws in his pockets and clicked the button on the carrot pen that was always in his pockets. _Let's hope the fabric doesn't destroy most of the recording._ "Get rid of me?"

"Once and for all." Ryan nodded, "I think we'd be doing the world a favor." Agreed Jason as he started to take something out of his satchel.

"Oh? And why's that?" Nick said unimpressively, crossing his arms.

"Come _on!_ We're not as gullible as the instructor. A criminal will always be a criminal, just like Luna said! We're only doing this for the good of Zootopia." Ryan said easily with a shrug.

"Well, believe it or not, I _have_ changed. Jason I sort of expected, but you Ryan?" Said Nick as he watched the tiger slowly approach him.

"Really? Wow, you're just _too_ _easy…_ All those times I laughed and joked with you were nothing more than an act. I'd never trust a fox. And here I thought your species was suppose to be smart. Guess that bunny is really rubbing off on you, eh?" Ryan said smugly.

"Leave her out of this…" Nick grumbled, aggressively stepping forward.

"I'd watch what you're doing _fox._ Or I just might slip a finger." Jason said as he pointed what seemed like a gun toward the fox. Not wanting to take any chances, Nick backed off.

"What do you want?" He finally asked, finally getting tired of their game.

"Leave the academy."

"And never return."

After studying both their faces for a long moment, he finally spoke. "And if I don't?"

"See this gun here?" Ryan said, gesturing toward the device in Jason's hooves. "It contains a low dosage of Night Howler. Not a lot, just enough for you go do a bit savage for a couple of minutes. I wonder what the others would think if they found us crippled here with you over our wounded bodies?" He finished with a dark laugh.

"Let's not forget to mention what happened in The Outback district when you were… twenty I think? I'm not sure why the police haven't figured that out yet." Jason shrugged but Nick's eyes wide at the bull's comment, slightly stumbling back. "It's amazing what you can find if you ask the right guys." He finished smugly.

"And don't think about telling anyone else. Wouldn't want that bunny of yours to get hurt again." Jason said darkly.

"You wouldn't…" Nick managed to breathe out from his panicked state.

"Try us…"

Seeing the serious look in their eyes, fox growled in frustration. "I can't just leave unannounced." He said as he crossed his arms across his chest again. Nick thought best not to taunt the two, seeing he was on a very thin wire. The last thing he wanted to do was put Judy into danger.

Jason stepped forward, pointing the gun closely to Nick's forehead. "Sure you can."

With another growl in frustration, Nick turned around with his paws in the air and slowly walked away seeing that as his only option. He only made it a few steps before one of the two snarled.

"Ugh! You're going too slow. I have other things to do. Faster!" Ryan yelled as he pushed Nick, causing him to stumble and hit the ground.

Grunting, Nick picked himself back up and dusted the dirt off his clothes.

"Well look what we have here…" Ryan said, kneeling down and picking an object up. Nick's heart felt like it stopped when he saw what he was holding. "Sly fox was trying to record us the whole time."

"Let me see that…" Jason ordered, holding his unoccupied hoof out while never leaving eye contact with the stunned fox. Ryan complied and dropped the orange carrot pen into his awaiting hoof.

Now Nick started to breathe heavy, the empty threats finally taking its toll. His last hope was now in the paws of the enemy and he couldn't react, unless he wanted to be shot of course. Jason examined the device up close, clicking the button on the side and stopped the recording.

"I knew you were fond of your bunny friend but I didn't expect this much…" Jason laughed.

What he did next made the world stop for Nick. Time seemed to slow as he watched the dust from the lone pen fly from his crushing grip. Spouts of the recording sounded off before dying out. Nick watched the debris slowly make it to the ground. To antagonize the fox even more, Jason decided to throw what was left of the pen in the fox's direction. Ever so slightly, released himself from his calm and collected mask, causing him to slowly ball his fists and bare his teeth at the two.

At that moment, Nick didn't care about the consequences. Just then, a symbol of his everlasting friendship with the only animal who truly believed in him was destroyed right in front of his eyes. Even with the gun pointed directly at his face, he felt no fear. No...

Nick felt savage.

Without even thinking, Nick blitzed behind both mammals in the blink of an eye and grabbed both their tails. Both of them didn't have a chance to react before they were tripped to the ground when the fox ran forward with all his strength, using their own tails as a tripwire.

With a grunt of pain, Jason was flipped onto his stomach, causing the gun to stumble out of the bull's grip before he had a chance to pull the trigger. Now, Nick stood on top of his back holding his arm dangerously far back.

"GAHHH!" The bull cried as Nick pulled his arm slightly. The fox brought his muzzle up to Jason's ear and snarled loudly.

"WILDE!" A new voice yelled out before he could go any further. Looking up with beating red eyes, he saw an elephant quickly approaching. "Calm down!"

Her hard, disapproving glare allowed Nick's more rational mind to snap himself out of his bloodlust. Blinking a few times, Nick slowly released his grip on the bull and backed away slowly, looking down at his own paws in disbelief.

"MA'AM! Help! That fox ju-"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH PHANEX!" She yelled extremely loud, enough to rattle the metal of the academy's front gates.

Slowly, Jason pulled himself from the ground, gripping his left arm in pain. "I'm disappointed in you… all of you." She said, looking at everyone.

"But he just attacked us!" Ryan cried out, pointing an accusing finger toward the still dazed fox.

"Well what do you expect? You had a gun pointed at his head. What was he supposed to do?" A new voice called out. Stepping out of the shadows of the distant trees, a rhino calmly approached the aggravated tiger.

Slowly Nick continued to back away, eyes never leaving his paws. The sounds around him sounded slurred and muffled. It was only when he bumped into the approaching rhino's leg that he broke free from his trance.

"Wait.. wha?" Ryan said dumbfoundedly, snapping his neck back and forth between the elephant and the rhino.

"I thought you guys were acting rather suspicious today… So I informed the instructor and followed you." Maxwell explained, putting a comforting hoof on Nick's shoulders.

"But-"

"ENOUGH! You're both under arrest for possession of an illegal substance and weapon, assault and battery, vandalism, harassment, framing, and theft. Anything-"

"THEFT?! I didn't steal anything!" Ryan said as he struggled out of the elephant's tight grip.

In an attempt to control the squirming tiger, the elephant slammed the suspect to the ground and held him there till he calmed.

"Actually, when I was investigating who stole the items, I found it odd that both you and Jason were sometimes the only ones who weren't there at any of the moments the stuff were reported missing." Max explained, heading over into the direction of the bull.

Seeing his approach, Jason tried fighting back by throwing a lousy punch in the rhino's direction, which he easily dodged. In a quick motion, he threw the bull to the ground and used his injured arm as a weakness to get him to comply. "Let's add resisting arrest to those charges..."

Pointless shouting and screaming were exchanged by the bull and tiger as they were hauled from the ground and away from the gates. Because of all the noise, many other cadets and staff gathered on top of the green grass of the courtyard, all wondering the same thing. Nick just sat there astonished at the events. Everything seemed to happen so quickly. The fox slight jumped when he heard his name from the booming voice of the instructor.

"WILDE! Meet me at my office… _NOW._ " The instructor yelled sternly while escorting the defeated cat toward the academy's main building. Without resistance, Nick hurriedly made his way over toward the staff building without looking up.

…

Nick fumbled with his fingers, trying to find anything to get his mind off of what just transpired. The hard stool he sat on didn't help his condition as he constantly readjusted himself. His tail flicked back and forth at the constant rhythm of the wall mounted clock as seconds slowly ticked by.

Nick wasn't sure what come over him. Nothing like that had ever happened to him before. Sure, he had his fair share of bullying, being pushed around, and plenty of prejudice during his times on the streets. But every time, he just dusted himself off and laughed at them.

Now, it was different. Unlike before, this time it involved something he cared deeply for. Something that he carried with him almost daily. Something snapped within him after viewing the destruction of that carrot pen. It was a new feeling that he never experienced before…

And it was terrifying.

The sound of loud _thumps_ came from behind the fox as the door to the office swung open. Although Nick knew who it was, he still refused to look up. His ears followed the sound of their heavy footsteps creaking against the wooden floor until they stopped. His ears slowly lowered once he heard the sound of compressing fabric and a heavy exhale.

"Wilde," She spoke with a calm and collected voice. "Look at me."

Shutting his eyes tightly, he lifted his head up to the direction of the instructor and slowly reopened them, linking eye contact.

With another heavy sigh, she spoke, "Although I'm glad you made it out of that situation safely, I am deeply disappointed in how you handled that situation." She began, causing Nick to break his eyes away from hers and back to his restless paws. "I want you to know that you are my best cadets I've had in over seven years… But that kind of behavior was unacceptable. What happened?"

Nick looked up at her and opened his mouth to speak, but the words he needed failed him. With a sigh, he shut his mouth and looked back towards his paws. After a few tense seconds, he finally sputtered out the words, looking up towards the elephant as he delivered them. "I'm sorry…"

With a shake of her head, she got up from her seat and walked over towards the nearby bookshelf. "This isn't my first time dealing with one of these situations. One cadet even got shot by somebody else." She said while she picked up a framed portrait off the shelf before setting it back down and looking towards the fox once more. "But never have I seen someone take down two large animals in under a second with a gun pointed at their own head."

Nick opened his mouth again to speak, but nothing came out. After a few more tries, he finally spoke. "To be honest, I.. I don't even remember how I did it." He chuckled lightly.

Aurelia nodded understandingly, returning herself to the comfort of her own chair once more. For the next few minutes, no one spoke as the elephant was deep in her thoughts, rubbing her chin with her trunk. Nick passed the time by concentrating closely on his rough, padded paws.

"It's getting late." She finally spoke. "Get some rest Wilde. We'll deal with this more tomorrow." The elephant then got up from her chair and headed in the direction of the door, opening it up with her trunk.

Jumping down from the high plastic chair, Nick left the office with a shaky two finger salute. For the rest of the night, he didn't speak another word. For what felt like the hundredth time in his life, Nick Wilde was speechless. No amount of sarcastic or witty comments could shake him from his stunned state. He didn't even think Judy could break him from his condition.

Flopping down onto the blankets of his bed, he soon fell into a dreamless sleep with only one thought lingering in his mind.

 _What is that bunny doing to me?_

* * *

 **Aurelia Longhorn (Elephant /F) -** Strict instructor. Doesn't like to go easy. Doesn't believe in Nick at first but realizes his potential

 **Nick Wilde (Red Fox /M) -** Sly and trouble maker. Often avoids sensitive subjects and deflects with humor. Strong fear of muzzles

 **Jason Crown (Bull /M) -** Strong and self-centered. Thinks to highly of himself and often speciest. Main antagonist, gets kicked out of the academy later on. Anger issues

 **Luna Carson (Arctic Wolf /F) -** Strong family wolf. Caring and kind. Often doesn't give herself enough credit. Family drama involving criminals. Hates criminals with a passion, father dead.  
 **  
Echo Carson (Arctic Wolf /M) -** Strong family wolf. Wise and intelligent. Jokes around a lot but cares a lot. Hates criminals with a passion, father died before his eyes.

 **Maxwell Hero (Rhino /M) -** Independent hard worker. Secret guardian protecting Nick and Bella from Jason. Secretive and mysterious

 **Kenya Blake (African Zebra /F) -** Brother of Ranger Scout kid who bullied Nick. Hates brother. Strongly independent. Hates Nick at the start but realizes who he is.

 **Ryan Phanex (Tiger /M) -** Charmer, two-face. Allegiance to Jason but tries to get onto Nick's good side. Self-centered. But caring at the center who cares strongly for justice

 **Bella Cotton (Black Sheep /F) -** Childhood friend of Judy. Inspired by the deeds of her. Selfless, very intelligent, not very strong physically. Bullied for being small in the academy

* * *

 **WEW! I'm beat. That took me all day to write but I think I'm glad with the results. This one was a bit longer than normal but I guess that's alright. I hope you guys enjoyed that.**

 **When I first started writing this story, the first thing I created was a personality chart, as you can see above. I thought it would be important that the reader could experience the different and vast personalities of my OC's in the story. Now that I've revealed all their secrets, I can show you what they were. I hope I hit those personalities on the nose when I was writing these chapters. :D**

 **Also, please do leave a review for my story and tell me what you think! I kept writing and deleting what I wrote for that scene with Ryan and Jason because I kept thinking it was a bit cheesy at moments. I hope the whole situation was satisfactory. :)**

 **If you like what you've read and want to see more, please do follow/favorite! I have more planned!**

 **Another thing, I use the term 'Vet' (short for veterinarian) in this chapter. I know in previous chapters I used the word doctor. Well, looking up the definition, both words basically mean the same thing in a world inhabited solely by animals. Just something I wanted to clarify.**

 **Bah, enough about that, let's go to the fine 7 who reviewed!**

 _ **MrAndersIversen**_ **\- Thank you for your kind words! It really is a big encouragement to keep on going! Great story by the way, I'm looking forward to reading it. (Still haven't read your second chapter yet but I'll get to it. xD)**

 _ **Junick is awesome**_ **\- Thank you and I'm glad you are liking it so far!**

 _ **Foxlover91**_ **\- Hehe, did you expect Ryan? Was I that obvious? *shrug* I tried. I'm glad you liked what I did with the point of view thing the previous chapter, I was unsure on how it would turn out but it's nice that you liked it.**

 _ **Story Writer 2015**_ **\- Now that would be a great twist… Too bad I was already too deep with him in the story to pull him out. Oh well, I'll have to find some other way to create a twist. HEHE I already have one planned… next chapter…**

 _ **Anette090**_ **\- Thank you for the words of encouragement! They really do mean a lot. By the way, was the point of view switch here distracting? I wasn't exactly sure when I put that in. It'd be good to know.**

 **Pedo-Sandwich - Haha, sorry about that. I can't resist a good cliffhanger. But I couldn't figure out a nice one this chapter so I guess you got lucky :P Anyways, thank you for your support and I'm glad you liked that chapter!**

 _ **Anne (Guest) -**_ **YAHOO! I love cake, thanks! I'm really glad you are enjoying my story so far and thank you for the many words of encouragement. Those are the words that help me keep going when I'm writing these chapters. Really, thank you. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!**

 **Wew, long Author's Note xD Well, that's all I have to say for now. I really hope you enjoyed this chapter! Reviews are much appreciated!**

 **Until next time! Peace!**

 **Edited by zeh NickelAz! BIK TANKS!**


	11. Graduation

**.**

 **I spent at least 5-6 hours typing up and smoothing out a clear plan for the next couple of chapters because you guys really deserve it. During this time, I listened to music. When I was listening, the song 'Hall of Fame' came up… It got me thinking, the lyrics of the song match Nick's determination and will to pass the academy perfectly! 'You could be the hero' Check. 'Breaking all the records that thought, never could be broke' Judy's records… Check. 'Do it for your people' FOR FOXES! 'Do it for your pride' He does have a big ego, he also has a bet to win. He wouldn't ever fail Judy too. You get the idea, just thought I'd point that out. Funny thing how stuff works.**

 **Anyways, graduation! FINALLY! I hope you enjoy this little happy ending. Well not really ending, I have a ton more planned for this story. I guarantee a lot of you are wanting these two together so there is plenty for me to continue on! Never really done something like that before but I'll try it my own way. With a twist!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

The bright evening sun seeped through the blinds and into the office. The light blue curtains swayed as a gush of cool air entered the room. The elephant planted her large arm onto a stack of papers to keep them from blowing away. With a sigh, she took off her reading glasses, setting them down on the desk below her and looked up.

Sitting tall, Maxwell looked back into the elephant's tired eyes. Leaning forward more in her chair, the instructor switched her gaze to the now sleeping fox in the oversized chair. With a light jab from the rhino, Nick awoke with a jump. After a few blinks, he rubbed his eyes with a yawn and looked back at the instructor with equally exhausted eyes.

"Is that all?" She finally spoke wearily to the two cadets, who both gave a silent nod in return.

"So, let's get this straight. You," She spoke in monotone, directing her trunk to the fox. "Were in your room at the time when Phanex showed up. He asked you for your help and then followed him to the front gate where you both waited for Crown to arrive. Correct?"

"Yes ma'am." Nick yawned tiredly.

"Once he appeared, they pointed a gun to your head and threatened you to leave the academy. At the start of said conversation, you had a recorder and were recording. Correct?"

" _Had…_ " Mumbled Nick bitterly before answering with a proper 'yes ma'am'.

Nodding with a slight hum, the large elephant then turned her attention toward the rhino sitting straight in his chair. "And you… You said you hid in the trees after you came and told me. That means you heard the entire thing. Does Wilde's story add up?"

"Yes ma'am. Both Crown and Phanex initially started the tension. There were a couple moments where Wilde almost got physical but held himself back." Max responded.

"And what caused the sudden aggression?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows and concentrating heavily on the rhino's words.

"I don't have the best sight but I believe one moment was when they called him out on some event when he was twenty. Wilde also showed clear aggression when they threatened to cause harm towards his bunny friend. And lastly, when-"

"Jason crushed the pen…" Nick finished with the wave of his paw. "Are we done now? Can I finally get coffee?"

Flipping her head toward the agitated fox, she have a disapproving scowl before she answered his question. "Not quite… What happened when you were twenty Wilde?"

With a sigh, Nick lowered his head onto his paws and closed his eyes. He knew this was coming. Even if he didn't tell her, Jason or Ryan would most likely get the word around anyways. It's only if they are willing to believe them or not. Finally lifting his head, he opened his eyes and spoke quietly. "I… I wasn't the best mammal back then. I may have done some things… I'm really not proud of… Okay, maybe a lot of stuff." He chuckled before turning serious again. "That's why I think it would be best to leave the past in the past and just learn from my mistakes." He finished with no room for argument.

After a moment of silence, the instructor finally got up from her chair and walked calmly over towards the open window. "Alright." She finally said as she turned her body to face the two cadets. "From what I heard, both Crown and Phanex harassed and threatened you Wilde. When you finally gave in and started to walk away, Phanex took it a step further and assaulted you. Because of all the pressure, you finally snapped and used your police training in order to take out both offenders. Risky move but you didn't have a choice… As I see it, it was all in self defense." Once she was finished with her sentence, the elephant returned to her seat after closing the window shut. "I think we're done here." She said with a long drawn out sigh.

" _Finally…"_ Nick moaned as he stood up from his seat. "Next time you make me skip my morning run, at least have some coffee ready." He complained, stretching his back. Once satisfied with the _pop_ , he wasted no time and headed straight for the door with his tail dragging across the wooden surface.

"Wilde…" She called out before the fox could leave. Nick turned his attention toward her with droopy eyes and erect ears. "I can't save you a second time. If something like this happens again… You're on your own." She said seriously with a hint of concern.

Nick yawned and nodded his head before he opened the door and headed out.

"You're dismissed." She said with a grunt, eyeing the already leaving fox. Following orders, Maxwell gave a sturdy salute before following the fox outside.

Fumbling in his pockets, Nick gripped onto a singular rectangle device and pulled it out towards the open air. Tiredly, he pressed the side of the phone and turned it on.

The first thing he saw was a text from Judy.

 **Judy:** _Well? How'd it go?_

Nick chuckled. _Of course she's worried…_ Calling her in the middle of the night can do that. Not that he's complaining. She was more than willing to listen to Nick. It wouldn't help that word already got out and news stations are already all over it, probably making it bigger than it really is.

Stepping out onto the cool grass, Nick turned his attention to the gates of the academy. After a few seconds, a single lynx reporter caught the fox out of the corner of his eye and started shouting at his direction, causing a chain reaction from the other animals there. Flashes of white were snapped as many of them tried to get a good picture from the closed gates of the academy. From such a distance, their words seemed nothing more than unimportant garbling to Nick. With a smirk, Nick gave a two finger salute in their direction before he walked towards the main building.

Bringing his attention back to his phone in paw, he dialed her number as he walked toward the mess hall. Almost instantly, Judy's concerned face showed up on the screen. "Nick! I was so worried, you're all over the TV saying they might kick you out and I-"

"Awww, is the widdle wabbit worried?" He spoke with the quiver of his lip.

"Of course I'm worried! All that hard work would be lost!" She fumed instantly, much to the fox's amusement.

"Relax Carrots. You shouldn't believe everything they say on TV." Nick chuckled but was halfway interrupted with a yawn.

"Nick…" Judy said, "How much sleep have you gotten?"

"Geez, _mom._ Don't worry, I'll be fine." He said with the wave of his paw as he entered the cafeteria. His spirits lifted as he saw the gifted machine sitting on the high counter.

"Nick…"

"Really, I'm-"

"Nick." Judy whispered lightly, making Nick look down at his phone. His heart melted at her soft but caring expression. _Curse you and your cuteness…_

"Uh… I-I didn't sleep." He said shamefully while rubbing the side of his neck.

"But I thought-" Judy began but Nick cut her off by raising a single finger to the camera.

"After you ended the call, I couldn't fall back asleep… I just layed in bed." He said, all without making eye contact with the bunny on the screen.

She mouthed an 'o' and remained silent. Acting quickly, Nick tried to change the atmosphere. "So are we done cutting each other off?" He said with a light smile.

"Aw, I was just starting to have some fun…" She playfully pouted. But Nick didn't see her watery eyes, he only saw the bright smile she plastered on her face as she taunted the fox. A genuine smile formed across Nick's muzzle as they continued their playful banter, livening up the cafeteria.

…

"Wilde…"

…

"WILDE!" The instructor shouted for the second time. Nick shook his head to rid himself of the memories and turned his attention to the lumbering elephant as she tapped her foot in impatience. "Would you knock that goofy smile off your face and get in this arena already?!" She shouted, pointing an impatient trunk towards the padded ring.

Complying with a chuckle, Nick threw on his gloves and jumped into the arena.

"I bet he was thinking of that bunny…" Max teased, throwing a couple false punches in preparation. Nick didn't respond, he only grinned wider as he held out his fist, waiting for Max's in return.

Once both gloves touched, they both jumped back into their respective corners and got into their fighting stance.

"Wilde!" The instructor yelled. Sagging his shoulders, he removed his eyes from his opponent and focused on the elephant. "At least give Hero a chance…" She asked robotically.

Grinning wildly, Nick responded. "Now that wouldn't be fun, now would it?" He retorted back before returning to his previous stance.

Shaking her head, she brought the whistle up to her mouth and blew while clicking the stopwatch in her hand in the process.

Sprinting fast, Nick jumped high to one of the elastic rings of the arena and sprung off of it and into the direction of the rhino. The fox ducked under Max's defensive arm and landed hard onto his back, causing the rhino to stumble forward. Not a second later, Nick flipped onto his face as he recovered and grabbed onto his horn. Jumping down off his face, the fox pulled downward on the horn with all his strength on the tumbling rhino.

As a result from the sudden push and pull, Max rolled forward and hit the ground with a hard _thud,_ knocking the air completely out of him as he landed on his back. The padding he wore did little to protect him from the impact.

"Ouch…" Luna winced from outside the arena.

"That's gotta hurt…" Said Echo with a pained face.

"TIME! Four seconds… That's a new record." The instructor said as she nodded approvingly, raising an impressed eyebrow at the fox.

"Eh, I try." Nick shrugged carelessly before turning back around to the downed rhino.

"Why do I always get to fight him…" Max grumbled under his breath as he brought himself back onto his two feet.

"Wilde… You passed flawlessly. Good job. Hero, we might have to redo your physical… I don't think that was a fair match-up." The instructor said from behind her clipboard.

" _No kidding…"_ Said Max as he continued to complain to himself.

"Hrm… Blake, get in the arena." She ordered with the flip of her clipboard at the zebra, ignoring the rhino's response. She then turned her attention back to the fox as he exited the arena and removed his gloves. "Wilde, the written test results should be back by the end of today. There's nothing else for you to do here so go away and don't bother me."

"But I feel so welcome. You never know, maybe someone else here wants to duel me." Nick offered with false offense, waving his arm widely to his surroundings.

"NO!" Was collectively shouted from the instructor, all his fellow cadets and even a few other mammals passing by in the gym.

Nick laughed at their response and waved his paw in the air. "Fine, your loss." He finally said once he recovered and headed out of the noisy environment.

With a content smile across his face, Nick pulled out his phone and dialed the number he knew by heart. He then sat himself down on the lush green grass of the academy's courtyard has he waited for her to pick up.

"Nick!" Judy excitingly greeted as her face visualized onto the screen. She wasn't the only face on the screen too. The poor gray rabbit struggled to keep her balance and her phone as a dozen other siblings shoved their way into the camera's view.

"Move!"

"Is that the fox boy you're always talking about?"

"Hiiiiiii!"

"Lemme see! I wanna see!"

"Do they really have bushy tails?"

Nick laughed at the reaction and waved at the camera, receiving a synchronized greeting in return. "Hey Carrots and uh, little Carrots, how's that wound doing for you?" He said with a hint of concern.

"Ugh… Sometimes I wish I still had it." Judy replied with the roll of her eyes, finally freeing herself from the group. "There's no pain anymore but it's hard for me to turn sometimes. Still can't believe it's been two months already." She said thoughtfully, rubbing her chin while looking up before turning her attention back to the screen. "How'd it go?"

"Oh it was horrible! You would not believe it…" He swooned, placing his unoccupied paw on his head.

"What?! What happened?" Judy quickly responded.

"It was terrible… I wasted precious time in the arena. Ugh, I should've paid more attention… Could've had him down in two but noooooo… I had him down in four… seconds." Nick said with a grimly with a devious smile.

"YOU WHAT?!" Judy screamed as Nick's screen went black as her phone hit the floor. A few seconds later, color reappeared on the screen, along with Judy's stunned face. All the while, Nick was struggling to breathe.

"NICK! That's not funny! Please tell me you're joking." Judy seethed with an unimpressed gaze. Nick placed his paw on his muzzle to keep it from opening and irritating the bunny more.

"Oh, you wish." Nick snickered after taking a deep breath. "You're really are just too easy." Nick sighed as he wiped a tear from his eye. A couple giggles still escaped him from time to time but he mostly contained himself.

"Dumb fox." She mumbled while shaking her head. "How'd you think you did on the written test?"

"Pretty good, if I do say so myself. But seriously, it was _boring!_ " Nick said with the wave of his paw.

A smile unfolded across Judy's face at his comment. "I'm pretty sure they didn't do that for your entertainment slick."

"They could've at least made it bearable. I swear they were trying to bore us to death." Nick grumbled.

"So, you think you'll pass?" She asked hopefully.

"Oh I know I'll pass. I got the instructor practically kissing my feet right now." He said as he struck a humble pose but suddenly stopped at a thought. "Uh, you're gonna be there, right?"

Judy sighed, "That depends, when is the ceremony?"

"I think about a month or so from now. Why?"

"Good, good. It's because my parents won't let me leave until about a week from now. They're afraid I might injure myself somehow." She deadpanned glumly.

"Ah, don't worry about them." He said, waving his paw as if it was nothing. "They're just looking out for you."

"Please Nick, you're starting to sound like them…" She complained, planting her face in the palm of her paw.

"How dare you. When have I dropped so low that you compare me to your parents." Nick feigned offense with a smile.

"Har har. So, you inviting anyone else to the graduation?"

"I _was_ planning on inviting Finnick but turns out he isn't so comfortable being around so many officers. Who knew?" Nick shrugged. "Other than that, not really anyone else."

"Well…" Judy struggled to say, "What about your mom?" She asked carefully.

Nick sighed. "Carrots, we've been over this, I haven't seen her in 17 years. I'm not even sure if she still lives in Zootopia." He said while rubbing his eyelids.

"Nick. It'll be a perfect opportunity to catch up. She'll be more than proud to show up." The bunny thought optimistically, although it wasn't enough for the fox. "Just… think about it, okay?"

"Alright." Whispered Nick as he smiled into the camera genuinely.

They spent the next few minutes enjoying each other's presence, just like always. Nick basking in the golden rays of the sun while Judy was deep in her thoughts. A thought came to mind, making her break the silence. "Wait, if you have to wait a month before the ceremony and you are done training, what are you gonna be doing in the meantime?"

"Ah, that. Yeah, Ms Tusks said something about that. I think it was something like for about two weeks, we'll be training inside some Precinct that way we get to know what it's like there. Then we get a week _all_ to ourselves before we start practicing the ceremony. Then _finally_ we get to go home!" Nick cheered. Once he was done, he looked down to the camera with a playful smile. "Didn't you go through the same thing?" Nick gasped with wide eyes, "Have you forgotten?"

"Oh shush. If you have a family like me, you easily mix up events. Just needed a reminder." She said matter-of-factly, shrugging.

"Sure miss elephant's memory. Whatever toots your horn."

"Do you have something against elephants or do you just like comparing me to one?" Judy asked dryly.

The fox shrugged carelessly, "Well, you do have the ears." He pointed out.

"Nick!" The fox snickered. He knew that if this wasn't over the phone, he would've gotten a hard punch in the shoulder in return that he'd be feeling for weeks. Oh, how much he missed that. _Only one more month to go…_

* * *

 _Time Skip (2 Weeks)_

There is a lot said about a home, much of which is true. One of the most common of the sayings being 'Home Sweet Home'. While others just say other heart warming phrases like 'a home is where one's story begins'. For Judy, her favorite saying coming from a nice platypus named Wendy Wunder:

" _The magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave, and even better to come back."_

She agreed with this quote fully. Her first time leaving home had been a thrill, but that didn't mean it wasn't hard to leave.

"I'm gonna miss you guys." Judy said passionately through her hug but her words only made her parents hug harder. After realizing they weren't planning on letting go any time soon, she decided to speak up. "Uh, guys. I love you and all but if I don't go now, I'ma miss my train." She chuckled.

"I'm sorry sweetie." Bonnie said as both bunnies removed themselves from their embrace.

"Aw cripes, this never gets easy." Stu said as he put forth a noble effort to stop tears from strolling down his face but it was in vain.

Judy stepped back and gave a loving smile to all her family visiting her at the platform. With a content sigh, she raised up her paw and waved wildly, all while slowly backing up. "Bye guys! I'll miss you! I'll come visit you all again!"

In return, her siblings jumped up and down as they waved their paws frantically in the air at the departing bunny, shouting their goodbyes.

"Goodbye!" Judy shouted as she turned her heel and jumped into the train before the doors closed. Breathing in heavily, she ran up to the observation deck as she watched the train slowly make its way out of the station. The empty lands of the countryside presented themselves as the train picked up speed.

A deep feeling of longing pulled at her gut as her family became smaller and smaller. _Not a few seconds away and you're already missing them._ She chuckled at herself. Thinking of a solution to take her busy mind off of her family, she pulled out her music player from her bag and plugged in headphones. Placing them in her large ears, she scrolled through her playlist to a decent song to listen to.

 _The song she's gonna listen to is called 'Here Comes the Sun' I'm sure many of you hold this old classic. Beautiful piece of music, suggest you listen to it when reading Judy's thoughts. Enjoy!_

After finding the right song, she turned her gaze to the landscape. _It's not forever. Besides, this is for something more._ Judy told herself.

To be honest, she was scared when she got a call from Nick's instructor. But as it turns out, it wasn't bad at all. It was actually a special request from all the staff there themselves.

 _Guest of honor, huh?_ The bunny thought proudly. It was on short notice but Aurelia thought it would great for her to give an inspiring speak to the newest recruits, and apparently, so did the other staff.

Since it was on such short notice, she had only two weeks before the ceremony. In that time, the bunny needed to write a satisfying speech. Judy chuckled, _Shouldn't be too hard, after all I'm still on medical leave._

Her face granted her a smile as she thought about her favorite fox's reaction when she walked up on the stage. It probably would be along the lines of both shocked and pleased.

She was definitely gonna enjoy this arrangement. And above all, she was going to be the one pinning that shiny metal badge on his chest. After that point, it was only a matter of time before the two became police partners. That of course depended on how well Nick did and if he would be assigned to Precinct 1, but Judy had faith in him.

Now that she thought about it, it's amazing on how much effort he truly put forth to become her partner. Not only did he push himself to his limits in his training, he also took the time to study with her and Bella for the written test AND sacrificed his sacred sleeping time in order to prepare for the academy's workouts.

Judy's smile diminished when she thought about their phone call two weeks ago. Reflecting back on the conversation, she should feel grateful that he only wanted her at his ceremony… but she really didn't.

 _What did you do to make you so scared Nick?_ Judy sighed. She really did think it would be best if he reconnected with his mother during the ceremony. She asked him to think about it, but that's probably all he did. Think.

 _17 years…_ The bunny whistled. That was a fairly long time. A lot of change could happen in just one of those years. So it was reasonable for him to be afraid. But if he kept pushing it off, he might never reconnect with her. For all they knew, she could be sick… or worse.

The glint from the sun shook the bunny from the unwanted thoughts as she watched the glowing orb rise over the horizon of the city that she quickly approached. Without much more convincing, she took out her phone and dialed a number.

"Hey Clawhauser! Really?! She did!? I've got to listen- never mind… That's not important. Listen, could you do me a favor?"

* * *

 _Time Skip (2 Weeks)_

"One more time." The instructor sighed, rubbing her head.

The cadets groaned, slouching their shoulders at the command. "Please… No more." Nick wined.

"Ugh, whhhyyyyy. I think we got it down already." Echo joined in the pouting.

The elephant snorted. "I told you. We'll keep practicing until-" She began but was cut off when a flabby looking hippo ran up to her.

"Ma'am," he gasped. "The guests are arriving."

"Yes!" Nick cheered, throwing his paws in the air in celebration, probably too excitingly. The other mammals around him sighed in relief as they sat down in their chairs. After what felt like the hundredth time, the cadets were officially getting tired of rehearsing the ceremony.

"Fine." The instructor gave in. "Remember-"

"Yeah, yeah. Stay seated until the speaker appears. Keep quiet and do as you're told. Oh, and don't get on your phones. We know… I've been through this already." Nick interrupted with the wave of his paw.

The elephant opened her mouth to rebuke but decided against it. She knew it was a hopeless cause. Shaking her head, she turned around and followed the chubby hippo out and around the stage.

Nick sighed and sipped his coffee. It was a beautiful day outside. There was a light breeze, and not a single cloud in the sky. The location they picked for the ceremony was perfect too. The grass was nice and cut and trees were just out of reach. Though, it was a little too bright for Nick's liking, but he couldn't complain. That's what his sunglasses were for.

Little by little, various mammals slowly built up and sat down in empty chairs as they waited for the graduation to start. During this time, the fox kept a watchful eye on all who entered. Many were mainly city officials, other instructors and family members, but he wasn't looking for them.

After thirty minutes of time, Nick started to worry. Sure, she was small but her popularity would've made her just as visible. A few minutes later, a snow leopard calmly walked up onto the podium and tapped the microphone a few times.

"Good evening everyone." She began while the recruits stood. "I'd first like to thank you all for coming. It's an honor for you all being here today to witness these fine cadets become officers of the law." The leopard thanked, receiving respectful claps from the audience.

"At first, a total of about 40 mammals signed up. Sadly, only 27 of them made it through. These mammals stand before you today. They have went through physical demanding tasks and passed. They each swore an oath to protect Zootopia's citizens with their lives. It is an honor to be a part of their graduation and to witness these fine mammals become officers." She spoke with sincerity.

"But before we give these fine animals their well deserved badges, we have a special guest speaker who wishes to speak first. Please welcome Judy Hopps." She introduced with the wave of her paw before walking away from the podium and returning to her seat. The crowd applauded loudly as the bunny walked from behind the stage and to the podium.

Nick's eyes lit up once he caught sight of the bunny, uncontrollably forming a smile across his face. A light shove from the wolf beside him forced him to remove his eyes from the gray bunny and to the canine.

" _Hissss.. Ggrrrrr…"_ Echo taunted while clawing the air. Lightly laughing, he shoved the wolf back and returned his attention back to the stage.

With a little effort, Judy hopped up onto the stool waiting for her at the podium and wiped her forehead. " _Wew…"_ She exhaled audibly, unintentionally allowing the microphone picked it up. A couple of the animals in the crowd lightly laughed as they waited for her to begin speaking.

"Hello everyone and thank you all for coming. I'd especially like to thank the family and friends of these individuals in blue before us today." She smiled brightly to the crowd while rotating her head to view everyone. Once her eyes caught sight of the fox, her smile brightened.

Echo gave him another nudge and whispered a cat's meow out of the corner of his muzzle, causing Nick to roll his eyes and return the shove. A course grunt from the elephant superior stopped their foolish roughhouse and both canines returned to their original respective stance.

With a deep breath, Judy began to speak. "When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place where everyone got along and anyone could be anything. Turns out, real life's a little bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker." She said, earning a few snickers from the audience.

"Real life is messy. We all have limitations. We all make mistakes. Which means―hey, glass half full!―we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be. But we have to try." Judy continued firmly with a nod. With another deep breath, she continued.

"So no matter what type of animal you are, from the biggest elephant to our first fox," She waved her paw to the cadets, and stopping it once it reached Nick. Seeing the opportunity, Nick lifted up the sunglasses from on top of his muzzle and gave a wink in her direction.

"I implore you: try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that _change_ starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us." She finished sincerely. But for Nick, the words meant so much more. Her words were followed by a loud round of applause and a few whistles. A pure, genuine smile broke across the fox's face as he took the sunglasses off his head and looked into her eyes.

No longer were his eyes half closed, shielding them from invaders, for Nick had no walls present in this moment. There was simply no need to hide it anymore. He showcased his joy proudly for all to see. In that moment, Nick felt truly happy, happier than he's ever felt in his entire life.

And it was only going to get better.

"For our first recruit. He's... Well, he's been a bit of a pain." Judy chuckled, "But, this cadet shown exceptional behavior for all to witness. Not once during his time at the academy did he give up no matter how much others wanted him too. This unique cadet even helped rid some of the corruption in this city, even without a badge. He's proved that in Zootopia, anyone can truly be anything."

Adrenaline pumped through Nick's veins as he waited for the bunny's signal to approach the stage. Judy breathed in deeply before continuing. "It is of my greatest honor to present to you, valedictorian of his class, ZPD's very first _fox_ officer, Nicholas Wilde!" The bunny stated proudly, giving a round of applause which the crowd mimicked.

Sucking in air, he sat his coffee cup and sunglasses down onto the green grass below him and began his journey to the stairs of the stage. Once he was up on the stage, Nick stopped halfway to the podium and stood in attention. The fox then watched anxiously as Judy reached under the podium and pulled out a wooden box before walking up to him herself.

Judy smiled enthusiastically at the fox while she opened the small wooden box. Time slowed for the fox as Judy reached in and took out a shiny golden badge. He held his breath as Judy pinned the symbol onto his uniform.

The bunny then slowly backed up as she viewed the new officer before her. With an authentic smile, she raised her paw and gave a salute full of reverence. The crowd to their side stood up and cheered as Nick returned the gesture with his own joyful smile.

Throughout his entire life, he never dreamed of a moment like this. A moment where mammals would respect him, and give him a chance to be so much more than what he was born to be. But thanks to one special bunny, his door was opened.

…

Nick sifted through the crowd of larger animals, sniffing the air erratically. The rest of the ceremony went by quickly. Many _thank you's_ were given as each of the 27 officers gained their badges. The snow leopard mayor then gave a speech and assigned each officer to a respective precinct.

It was a proud moment for all. Even for Aurelia Longhorn, who had _all_ of her cadets assigned to Precinct 1. Both Luna and Echo were exceptionally happy that they weren't going to be split up. Nick shared a round of applause when the mayor announced that Bella would be the new IT-Officer of the precinct thanks to her intelligence.

But those happy moments were behind him. Now, the new officers socialized with their families, friends, and other mammals there as they walked around, enjoying beverages and light snacks. During Nick's searching, he was stopped a few times to meet a few of the other cadet's families. Out of all of them, Mrs. Carson was by far his favorite out of them all. The fox even helped himself to a couple of snacks along the way. But after an hour of searching, he started to get tired.

But finally, his searching paid off as the wind blew the scent of a very familiar rabbit into Nick's nose. Before he could even react, a gray bullet crashed into his side in a tight hug.

"Woah, hey there Fluff." Nick chuckled, ruffling the top of Judy's head. With a brief tight squeeze, the bunny eventually let go.

"Sorry! Couldn't help myself." She giggled softly.

"Uh-huh. Sure." He nodded with a doubtful glare. "By the way, where were you? I've been looking all over for you."

"Oh, that. Yeah… Turns out, the Night Howler case really made me popular." Judy responded as she gazed off into the distance.

Nick nodded understandably before he looked down at his paws. "Muffin?" He offered.

"Blueberry?" She deadpanned, to which the fox just shrugged carelessly as he took a bite out of his own muffin. With an audible sigh, she took the muffin from his paws and munched down on it herself.

"So," Judy began as she finished part of her pastry. "Looks like you won that bet afterall. What do you plan on doing?" She asked a bit hesitantly.

Nick finished what was left in his mouth before he spoke. "Dunno yet…" He responded before he took another bite out of his muffin.

Flabbergasted, Judy swerved her head to the fox's direction with an astonished face. "What do you mean you don't know yet?"

Once Nick finished his muffin, he threw the wrapper into the nearest trashcan before he began liking his fingers. "I mean, I'm not sure." He responded with yet another shrug.

"But I thought with you winning the bet, I have to do whatever you want for an entire day? Wouldn't that be wasting time?"

"Ah." Nick held up a finger as he smiled mischievously at the bunny. "You're right. _An_ entire day, but not this day." He then bent down to her eye level and smiled. "I'm not sure what I'll have you do but not this day."

Judy's expression hardened as she gave a cold glare toward Nick. "Sly fox." She grumbled with a smile, giving a light jab into his shoulder.

"Dumb bunny." He responded easily as he straightened himself out while rubbing his shoulder.

"I almost forgot!" Judy jumped as she reached into her pockets and dug for something.

"Carrots, that better not be a gift. You've already given me a badge, I really don't need anything else." Nick chuckled, curiously looking at the bunny as she held her arms behind her back.

"Heh. Well," She began sheepishly as she rocked on her heels. "Bella has told me a lot about that event a couple months ago and how you were a bit distant. With a little digging, I was able to find out what exactly it was that caused it." Judy explained, bringing her paws from behind her back.

Nick's mouth gaped open as he reached out and plucked the orange carrot pen from her paws. Tearing his eyes from the object he looked at back at her. "It can only be bought in Bunnyburrow… And I thought after what happened to the old one, you might need a replacement." She chuckled.

What the fox did next, she didn't expect. In one quick motion, Nick scooped up the bunny into a tight hug, and whispered in her ear. "Thank you."

At first, the bunny was startled by the sign of affection but accepted it none the less. A few lingering seconds, the two finally broke from their embrace.

"Alright Carrots, no more of this gooey stuff. It's not good for my image." Nick joked as he placed the pen in his pocket.

"Actually… There's one more thing…" Judy responded vaguely.

"Really? I don't know how much more of this stuff I can take. You've already done so much. What could you've possibly done to top it all off?" He responded.

With a guiding paw, Judy lead the fox through the crowd and around the stage. After what felt like forever, the two finally made it out of the crowd and into open space.

"Seriously, where are you taking me? You're not planning on kidn-" The fox began but stopped in his tracks as he looked up.

Sitting patiently behind the stage, sat an aged vixen. She wore a beautiful silk green dress. Once her emerald eyes caught sight of the younger fox, she stood up abruptly, knocking over the wooden chair in the process.

Nick speechlessly snapped his head back and forth between the bunny and the fox before it rested on the other fox.

"Mom?"

"Nicholas!" She cried as she ran surprisingly fast up to the fox and pulled him into a deep hug. Nick hesitated for a few seconds before he returned the strength, closing his eyes and enjoying her presence.

"I'ma go and leave you two be. I see you have a lot to catch up on." Judy said as she walked away slowly. The aged vixen lifted her head slightly, and smiled brightly to the bunny. 'Thank you.' She mouthed before closing her teary eyes and returned her head to the hug.

The bunny nodded, even if elderly fox couldn't see it, and turned around. Judy looked up to the crowd and let out a shaky breath she'd been holding as she walked away.

Nick chuckled as he held the fox tightly. _Today is paws down the best day of my life._ He thought to himself. She never failed him. No matter how much he thought he knew about Judy, she always found new ways to surprise him.

The new officer was immensely happy. The kind of happiness that made his heart feel like exploding. For he knew he had a genuine friend that would be there for him no matter what. Someone that wanted to make him happy. Someone who wanted to repair his broken soul.

Under the shade of the large stadium, a single tear strolled down the fur of Nick's face.

"Thank you."

* * *

 **NOTE - If you don't read this, I don't blame you. This is one of my longest author's note by far. But I do recommend you read it, I have a lot to say and not enough words can express it!**

 **Okay, first off, I'd like to apologize for how long this chapter took to make. This whole week I've been feeling a bit lazy. As a result, I just mainly sat on my couch and listened to soothing music. Once I started to work on the actual chapter, I was slower than I normally am.**

 **I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing but I feel like I'm being all paranoid. You guys' support is phenomenal! I almost cried a couple of times reading some of you guy's reviews. I'm only about 20 days and 10 chapters into the story and I've already got over five thousand views, a lot of people wanting more, and 73 followers! It's just… wow. I literally have no words to explain how grateful I am. Really, thank you so much. It means so much to me. Thank you. This is my first time ever writing a story before and I'm really happy you are enjoying my little experiment.**

 **I've honestly never written anything like this so I'm being extra cautious when writing lots of fluff and raw emotional moments because I want to get it right the first time and not something that the reader cringes when reading. I hope I completed my goal in this chapter and my previous ones. The last thing I want to do, is disappoint you all.**

 **Wew, I'm glad I got that out of my system. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter. For those who are wondering, no, this is not the end. I want to get these two together as much as anyone else does. And if you don't, that's fine, everyone has their own opinions and I respect that fully. But it's sort of why one of my genres is romance. The two is probably not the only romance I might have in the story but probably the only one I'm focusing on though. I've never done one of those before or even experienced it myself (16 years old and only had one girlfriend and I'm as happy as can be. No rush here :) ) so I'm playing by what I think it would go like. Maybe a few ideas from movies and other people's stories. So I hope you all like what I have in store. The next chapter will be up in about 2 days - a week at most. I still want to go over my plan and fix anything that really doesn't belong there.**

 **Ugh, so long Author's Notes. There honestly isn't enough room for me to explain how thankful I am to have you guys' support. I know I say this a lot, but I mean it every single time. Thank you. Anyways, if you want to see more, please follow/favorite! The support is greatly appreciated. I'm sorry if this chapter did feel a bit packed… A lot of time skips in it, along with a flashback but there simply was too much I needed to patch up before I continued. I could've split the stuff into separate chapters but I'm pretty sure it would've felt a little boring and less exciting. Or am I just be paranoid again… *shrugs***

 **Anyways, thank you to these 12 awesome people for leaving a review on my story. Very special thanks to ALookInsideMyHead and lefalleneur1 for those words. Those are by far the best reviews I've gotten so far and that really means alot to me. I probably will look back onto those two reviews many times when I need some support when creating a chapter. But all of you guys' reviews I'll reflect on. Thank you oh so very much!**

 _ **Zootopia fan of fiction -**_ **Yey! I'm glad it got sorted out. Sometimes the website glitches out but it eventually gets fixed. I hope you liked this chapter! Meant to be a bit of a tear jerking and fluffy chapter than anything lol**

 _ **Gabe5Bricks -**_ **Yup. Curveball ftw! I'm really really glad you are enjoying this story! And that reference part, I actually didn't intend for any references but if something did seem like one, I *ahem* did it on purpose. :)**

 _ **ALookInsideMyHead -**_ **Surprised? So am I lol Thank you so much for those words of encouragement. It means a lot (I've said that** _ **way**_ **too much lol) to read that. It's a big inspiration to continue on. My biggest fear for this story is probably disappointing you all.**

 _ **Junick is awesome -**_ **I KNOW RIGHT?!**

 _ **Anette090 -**_ **I'm glad I'm improving. Might've done a little worse with the changes this chapter because of all the events, time skips, and stuff but I hope it was still enjoyable. I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you did the last one!**

 _ **Lefalleneur1**_ **\- Woah… That is a really great honor. Thank you a ton. I'm really glad my words have such an effect. I really don't deserve the popularity. As long as one person enjoyed the story, it's enough for me to continue. :) Thank you a lot, I hope I don't disappoint.**

 _ **Pedo-Sandwich**_ **\- As much as I would've found that enjoyable, I decided to leave that part out. The chapter was already so long and I feared I would bore you and fill the chapter with not really important things. Oh well, what's done is done. I'm glad you think my chapters are well done. I'm very pleased to see that. Thank you!**

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ **Nice on paying attention! Still a curveball though :P And that seed… may or may not return in the next chapters… Hehe I'm glad Jason's actions caused you to hate him even more (if possible C:) Really glad you enjoyed that chapter. For your question, yes, we will see more of Max in the next chapters along with maybe a back story on him. There was a reason why I kept him so secretive and stuff. :D**

 _ **MrAndersIversen -**_ **Wohoo! Playing with people's emotions is funnnn! Everyone hates Jason *dances spontaneously* Haha, sorry. Also, if you posted a new chapter, I have no clue if you did, I didn't read it. I currently have 65 other chapters from other stories in my email, waiting to be read… I'm to lazy, ugh. SORRY! I'll get to it eventually lol Also, really glad you enjoyed the last chapter and I hope you enjoyed this one too!**

 _ **Fan O' Fun**_ **\- I agree, I thought it might've been too cheesy if I allowed that to work again. I think I was sort of pushing it adding in a night howler gun. I hope not lol Thank you by the way for following my chapter! Each follow means a lot to me.**

 _ **Story Writer 2015 -**_ **I wanted to add a reaction from the other recruits and stuff, it was actually originally planned but I thought maybe it would be pushing a bit too far. Oh well, as you can see, they are good friends. :) And yup! I'm glad the twist worked out, been planning that for a while now. Glad you enjoyed it!**

 _ **Chaos-Wolfy**_ **\- Haha sorry. Been planning that ever since I introduced Ryan. Did you know Phanex is the god of deception? Hehe, little easter egg no one knew. *Air fist pump* Curveball FTW!**

 **Alright. I just have one more thing to say… I know I know. You're bored. But this won't be the last time you see Nick's mother. In fact, the moment was just meant for emotions. Stay tuned to really get to know Vivian Wilde.**

 **Edited by NickelAz! Big thanks! Okay, I shut up now.**


	12. Another Day

.

 _ **Quick correction. There is something I quickly need to clear up before I continue. A couple of you were wondering what happened in the Outback district. GREAT! But I'm not telling you. What I need to clear up is the time frame. In those chapters, I referred to it "When he was twenty years old" and not "Twenty years ago". If it happened twenty years ago, Wilde would be 10 and I'm not gonna put him in DEEP trouble at that age. The real event happened ten years ago :D. And if you are wondering, yes, Nick is 30, and Judy is 26 in my story :P That is all here.**_

 **This chapter has probably been the most re-read chapter of all the ones I've created. After reading part of my first chapter and cringing at things I wrote (I WROTE THAT?! Ugh, thanks for bearing with me everyone lol), I decided it was time for me to try** _ **really**_ **hard on one chapter and see the results. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? Now don't worry about the stress. I'm that typical nerdy kid who has too much time and puts** _ **WAY**_ **too much effort into something just because they could. #nolyfe The only thing I'm stressing right now is trying to create a smooth plan for future chapters 22-25… Now that's tricky.**

 **So, I'd like you guys to tell me what you've thought of it.** _ **(Well we haven't read it yet…)**_ **Would you prefer me try to write every chapter like this or was the old way better?** _**(Hello?)**_ **A lot loved the way I wrote dialogue so that won't change but I thought I might avoid descriptive words this round and let the body explain emotions for the reader.** _**(Em, did you hear me?)**_ **I thrive off of feedback! So please tell me!** _**(Hey! We can't- Oh, forget it...)**_

 **Also, do you know how** _ **hard**_ **it is to get these two lovestruck fools together subtlely, where you just want to shout 'JUST KISS ALREADY!' I found out the hard way that it's not as easy as it seems. PLEASE bear with me when we get to those puffy, spuffy, fluffy moments because I really don't know how they'll turn out. You guys deserve the very best and I'm sorry if I can't give you that but I'll give you the best I can offer. I hope it's enough lol**

 **I'ma try to keep these Author's Notes shorter now and I think I did a good job this round. Anyways, please enjoy this WIP setting construction, slight humorous, suspense building, fluffy chapter! I have sooooo much planned,** _ **please…**_

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 _(4 Months after the events of the Academy graduation...)_

If there was one word to describe the day, it would be beautiful…

The golden rays of the shining sun glowed through the windows of Precinct One, bringing light and color to the surrounding objects. Officers of all sorts wondered throughout the halls casually, each ranging in size from the largest elephant to the smallest wolf. A few mammals even grouped up into small clusters, chatting amongst themselves while they sipped small beverages. It as quiet, peaceful. The only sound that echoed through the halls was the clicking of nails against the tile floor and the friendly laughter heard from distant officers.

"Ahhhh…" Clawhauser sighed blissfully. Today was perfect. For once in awhile, there was simply no need for the flabby dispatcher. There was no call over the radio that needed his direct attention, no officer currently in danger, and no urgent cases currently in progress. All seemed quiet.

And there was only one thing that could improve his peace.

With a little effort, the cheetah reached down under his round desk and pulled out a bright pink box from a secret drawer below and sat it on the smooth wooden surface of the counter. With a squeal in excitement and the lick of his chops, he reached over to lift the paper lid of the box and slowly pulled out the circular pastry of goodness.

"Clawhauser, you're drooling all over your desk." Wolfard chuckled as he repositioned his weight from the desk to his feet. Kiburi, the female lioness located on the opposite side of the wolf, nodded her head up and down with a hum in agreement.

A few quiet seconds later, the feline officer stuck out her tongue a little while she dragged a sneaky paw across the desk and towards the pink box, eyes concentrated heavily on the task at paw. Unfortunately, she quickly retracted her paw from the sudden feeling of pain and rubbed it tenderly with an annoyed expression. "C'mon buddy. I only wanted one."

The spotted predator only gave a hard glare to the feline, slowly raising a threatening paw in the air as to strike again. As an effect, the lioness flinched backwards and brought both of her paws in the air quickly as a sign of surrender.

Clawhauser nodded his head once in acknowledgement before returning his attention to the pastry in his grasp, expression softening. With one more savory lick of his fangs, he plopped the glazed donut into his awaiting mouth without hesitation. A soft and delightful moan escaped his lips as the cheetah munched lightly, tasting the sweet flavor of its glaze.

The greedy spotted paw of his reached into the bright box once more and pulled out a second donut from inside. Just when he planned to place it into his mouth again, he stopped himself when his eyes suddenly spotted the blur of movement out of the hole of the donut. Curiously, Clawhauser leaned forward and closed one eye. Using his other other eye, the spotted predator looked into the center of the donut childishly.

"Eeeekkk!" The dispatcher squeaked as he jumped out of his chair and ducked his chubby body behind the safety of the desk, unfortunately dropping the donut in his paw in the process, much to his disappointment. Not a few moments later, a small _thump_ rattled the desk and scared him more. After waiting a patient full three seconds the cheetah carefully lifted his head over the counter cautiously.

His eyes were met with a young raccoon dressed in a torn dark-brown hoodie. His bottom half was covered by the black fabric of his saggy pants. Visible spots of dirt and mud could be spotted around his attire. Strands of his gray and black fur stood on end as he stared back at the dispatcher with wide brown eyes with arms tightly gripped onto the metal pole of the contraption he was cuffed to.

"One deep fried coon thief to go please." Shouted a familiar new voice from beyond the desk. The chubby feline sighed and relaxed his muscles. Carefully, he lifted himself from the ground by using the desk as a support and brushed off the spots of dust that were present on his uniform. Once satisfied, the dispatcher looked up to the entrance of the ZPD building with crossed arms.

"Really Nick? That's the best you can come up with?" Commented the bunny as she walked into the Precinct with heavy feet. A light chuckle escaped the fox's lips as he let go of the door he had been holding and paced himself to the side of the aggravated bunny.

Slowly but surely, they both made it to the front of the desk. Nick raised a single paw in the air and waved casually. "How's it going Spots?"

But before the cheetah could even get a word out, a loud and thunderous voice bellowed throughout the halls, causing all to flinch. "WILDE! HOPPS!"

Ever so slowly, both mammals turned their heads upwards to the fuming buffalo as he pointed a hoof to his office door and disappeared without sparing a second. As soon as the buffalo walked out of sight, the bunny turned her rigid body to the fox and tapped her foot rapidly.

Her tense body, droopy ears and stern expression made the fox's own ears flatten as he chuckled nervously. "Heh, talk to you later buddy."

A wondering paw of Nick's reached up and massaged his neck gently. The tie on the fox's uniform was then tugged aggressively by the bunny as she walking down the hall and to the nearest elevator, dragging the fox along with. A small, audible _gurk_ was heard, but no resistance was given as he was hauled away.

As soon as they both rounded a corner and out of sight, the dispatcher turned his attention to the equally shocked wolf and lioness. Kiburi shrugged and leaned across the desk. "At least it never gets boring here. Just a typical day at Precinct 1."

"Yup, it's always either one or the other getting into trouble. I wonder how the chief puts up with them… Hey Clawhauser, what's the clock read?" Asked Wolfard as he brought himself back over to the desk to lean on once more. The cheetah raised himself into his seat once again and reached over to the stopwatch on the far end of his desk.

"15 minutes and 47 seconds." The comment caused the wolf to slam his head hard onto the desk and moan in frustration. Digging into his pockets, he pulled out a stack of bills and waved them in the air.

The lioness victoriously walked around the cart with a smug expression and snatched the money from his paws to begin counting them. "Told you within the next 30 minutes. I thought you would've known by now after the what? Fifth time this month?" She bragged, not once taking her eyes off of the bills in her paws.

"Ahem." Clawhauser joined in. Once he was sure he got both officers attention, he brought a shaky paw up and pointed at the still stunned raccoon.

The poor thief shook uncontrollably as he hugged the metal pole without a thought of letting go anytime soon. Soft, incoherent mumbles escaped his muzzle as his dilated pupils gazed distantly. "I-It.. it was just _so_ shiny… But g-grey f-f-fur a-and stars… _Mommy..._ "

"Oh, right… poor guy. Sir, you have the right to remain silent, anything…" The lioness explained after she stuffed the bills in her pocket and helped the poor mammal off of the cart and onto solid ground.

…

The stiff buffalo gave a hard, unmoving glare to both of the officers in the large seat for a long period of time. At the beginning of their silent staring contest, the fox of the group seemed confident and straight. But as time crawled on, the stare slowly affected him, causing him to slowly slouch in his chair and remove his eyes from the buffalo. The bunny next to him was faring worse under the pressure, keeping herself occupied by twiddling her thumbs. Time seemed to tick away extremely slowly, but thankfully, Bogo decided to speak.

"Do I even need to explain what you _both_ did wrong here?" Veins on his forehead suddenly became more visible to the duo as his volume increased in intensity with every word. Both mammals instinctively flinched backwards when the buffalo's hoof came crashing down on his desk once he finished, rattling the room with noise.

"Sir I can explain!" Judy exclaimed with a panicked appearance while rising from her sitting position.

The Chief blew air heavily out of his nose as he stare daggers at the bunny. "Explain to me why there's a raccoon shaking violently in my lobby... Explain to me why you both aren't out on the streets putting tickets on _parked cars_. Explain to me _WHY_ there's a food cart in the middle of. MY. PRECINCT!" He eventually shouted while tapping one hoof harshly onto his desk with every point made.

The fox carefully lifted a single digit in the air. "Uh sir, technically it's not _your_ precinct." With unbelievably fast reflexes, the buffalos aggressive stare turned sharply to the fox, inching himself closer to the tod. His partner also whipped her head around, mouth gaping open and punched Nick harshly on his shoulder. "Ow. Okay yeah, I deserved that. Shutting up now, please continue." He cautiously smiled as he rubbed his shoulder carefully.

Groaning wildly, the beast rubbed his forehead aggressively and sighed. "That's the fourth time that happened this month alone…"

A fake cough escaped Nick's muzzle. " _Fifth…_ Ahem." He mustered out, smacking a balled fist to his chest as he readjusted his voice.

WIthout much thought, the palm of Judy's paw collided with her forehead as she groaned audibly. "Not helping Nick…" Sighing, the bunny cop gazed upwards to her boss. "Sir, with all due respect, I believe putting us on a meaningless task such as parking duty is a waste of talent."

"Does it look like I care?! It was meant to be a punishment!" He exhaled, waving his arms in the air.

"But Chief, there must be _something_ more productive th-than… _that._ " Judy persisted, pointing at the little device for printing tickets that sat on his desk.

Groaning, the chief sat both elbows on top of his desk and face planted into his open palms. "I'm never gonna win, am I?" He mumbled rhetorically through his hooves. His reaction caused the energetic bunny to sit herself back down onto their seat with droopy ears and wait. During these seconds, the large buffalo breathed in and out repeatedly and mentally hummed his favorite song's rhythm. Once he was reasonably calm, he looked up at the duo.

"Coincidentally, there _is_ something else I need you two to do…" He responded in monotone. Nick had to put a comforting paw on the bunny's shoulder to keep her from jumping up in excitement. Before they could even say a word, Bogo raised his voice to a peerless volume.

"BUT!" He snorted and waited a few moments longer before continuing, "If this or anything like it ever happens again, I'll personally make sure you'll both have desk duty for the next year!"

Both mammals eyes widened in terror. " _No…"_ Nick squeaked out. Seeing as her partner probably is seeing his life flash before him, Judy rolled her eyes and spoke. "We promise it won't happen again."

Bogo raised one eyebrow and looked at them suspiciously. After a long moment of thought, he gave in. "Fine… There have been reports of petty thefts all around Savannah Central in the market district, stop them. Now get out of my office!"

…

"I think he just overreacted." Nick finally said as he stood at the door, holding it open with a paw. Instead of joining in on the conversation, Judy instead walked out of the open doors of the ZPD and down the street, all without looking at the fox.

Ever so slightly, Nick's signature smirk dropped and his ears fell back. "Hey Carrots, you're seriously not mad at me for what happened back there, right?" His hopeful expression dropped when the bunny continued to walk forward and ignore him. "Is it about yesterday?"

The question got a slight reaction out of the bunny as her ears straightened slightly from their elevated position. But other than that, no other reaction could be seen as she kept a vigilant eye on the many animals that went about their daily lives.

But it was enough for the fox to tell a thousand words. "C'mon Judy, it was all in good fun!"

Sharply, the bunny stopped in her tracks and swerved to Nick. " _Fun? FUN?_ How is humiliating the Chief 'fun' Nick?!"

"Uh, It was all for a laugh Fluff, the other officers sure thought it was funny. I mean, did you see Chief's face?" Nick gulped. _Wrong answer…_ Carefully, the fox slowly backed away from Judy.

"Can you take this seriously for once?! You could've lost your job! How did you even get Clawhauser to help you?" She continued to step forward, pushing the fox into a secluded alley way and away from the public's prying eyes.

"Well- uh, you see…" He nervously chuckled, rubbing the side of his neck. As soon as his back hit the brick wall, his tail curled up against him. "A box of donuts can go a long way."

Judy then got extremely close to Nick's face, forcing him to turn his muzzle away to keep it from bumping into her. After a few agonizing seconds later, the bunny groaned and stormed off. "Ugh, whatever. We'll deal with this later. Right now, we've got a job to do." Without argument, Nick quietly followed behind the bunny.

They walked together down the streets in silence, often splitting up and swerving around the many large mammals that they shared the sidewalk with. They both looked to and fro from pedestrian to pedestrian, searching for suspicious activity. But unfortunately, both minds were occupied by their own thoughts; Judy's with continuous stress and frustration and Nick's with the nagging feeling of regret and sorrow.

Sneaking a peek out of the corner of his eye, the fox caught sight of the still infuriated bunny, making the fox sigh. _Stupid, stupid, stupid fox…_ He then looked around for something to lighten the mood. "Is that a firework stand?" He spoke curiously, one ear vertical while the other slanted slightly. "Huh, I mean, we're just getting out of winter, aren't we?"

"Nick."

"That's gotta be breaking some kind of law."

"Nick..."

"Who'd buy them anyways? Seriously, it's not like they can set them off out here or anything."

" _Nick…"_ This time, she finally caught the fox's attention. Rotating his head around, he looked back at Judy with a cocked head, noticing that she stopped a while ago.

"Huh?"

Without turning her head toward the fox, she lifted up her gray arm and pointed to a distance firework stand. "Thief, 5 o' clock."

Following the finger, his emerald eyes locked onto a suspicious looking otter in a dark blue hoodie, walking very closely to one of the stands. Watching carefully, he noticed his paw slip out of the clothing and scim across the selection set across the table before it was stuffed back into the pocket. The owner of the stand, a camel, paid no mind to the outside world and concentrated heavily on the newspaper in paw.

Both officers locked gaze and nodded simultaneously before they ran in opposite directions, blending into the crowd. A few seconds later, the fox emerged silently into the opening of the market and called out. "Hey flattail, you really shouldn't be taking things that don't belong to you."

The otter gasped and turned around quickly, eyes only locking onto the glimmering badge positioned over Nick's heart. Without thinking, he bolted in the opposite direction and straight under the legs of a giraffe family. Unfortunately, he didn't get far because as soon as he cleared past the wandering family, an arm emerged out of nowhere and gripped onto his hoodie, pulling him into a nearby alley.

With remarkably fast speed, the otter's arm was attached to a metal device and locked into place around a nearby pole. Breathing densely to catch his breath, the perpetrator looked up to see his aggressor.

Standing strong stood a distant gray bunny with crossed arms and a face full of disgust. Walking casually, a fox came into the picture and leaned on top of the bunny's head, causing her ears to flop forwards slightly. Even with the conflicts roaming around their relationship currently...

There wasn't a doubt in their mind when it came to trusting one another.

Squinting his eyes, the fox leaned forward and examined the otter closely. "Harry? Is that you?" The perp looked to the fox after hearing a familiar name. "It is you! But what are doing out here stealing fireworks?"

Still shocked from the sudden confinement, the otter stayed silent and stared back at the two officers. "Why are you doing this? Isn't your mother sick at home?" Nick continued to push on.

His question seemed to strike a chord with Harry, provoking him to look down at his paws in guilt. Throughout the exchange, Judy stayed quiet and observed both of their reactions in the background, mapping out a plausible story inside her head.

With a heavy sigh, Nick reached into his pant's pocket to locate a silver object, but kept his fist in the location as he spoke. "Listen kid, you really shouldn't put yourself in these positions. If we were to arrest you right now, who would look after your mom? You don't have a dad and I'm pretty sure you aren't the richest family around."

Slowly, the otter curled up closer to the pole he was attached to and avoided Nick's gaze. "I… I d-don't know…" He mumbled softly.

Shaking his head, Nick got down onto his knees and placed a comforting paw on Harry's shoulders. After briefly tensing slightly, the otter went limp and continued to gaze downward. "Listen buddy, Ms. Otter is a nice lady but she'd be devastated if she found out." Nick explained softly, bringing his other paw out of his pocket and letting the light glistened off of the shiny key he held. "We can let you off with a warning but _only_ if you promise to return what you stole and apologize to the owner. Deal?"

With mouth hanging open, he looked back and forth between the fox and bunny whose faces were both filled with concern and sincerity. A few moments later, Harry deflated, letting out the air he had been holding and nodded his head subtly. "Okay…"

Snatching the key from the fox's grasp, Judy unlocked the pawcuff from his wrist and placed them back onto her utility belt. Once he was free, Nick helped the teen off the ground and lead him back out into the market area.

Slowly but surely, the trio silently made it back to the original red firework tent and to the camel owner. Without eye contact, the otter reached into his pockets and pulled out the miscellaneous firecrackers and smoke bombs he snatched and offered them to the owner. Judy placed a paw on his shoulders and nudged him to continue. "Uh, sorry mister for um, taking your stuff… and, uh, causing a scene."

With hateful eyes, the larger mammal strutted up to the otter and snatched the objects from his paws harshly. Without a word, he turned around and sat the objects back on the table in neat order. Unfortunately for Judy, her ears picked up the quiet mumbling of the camel. " _Filthy pred."_

"Come on kid, let's get you home." Nick spoke up suddenly, grabbing both otter and bunny and directed them away from the stand and through the crowd surrounding the place. Though it wasn't clear, it seemed that Nick was mostly guiding Judy out more than anything, which probably was for the best, for the camel's sake.

…

"10-4 Delgato." Clawhauser finished, letting go of the mic's button. With a sigh, the cheetah leaned back into his rolling chair and closed his eyes. He then stretched widely with a yawn, tail raising in the air, and reopened his eyes. Fumbling on the desk, he took out his tablet and scrolled through his social media account.

A slight squeal escaped him as he read the latest tweet from Gazelle, quickly retweeting it and commenting. "Hey Clawhauser, we're checking out for today. See ya tomorrow!" Looking up from the device, he spotted both Judy and Nick wave to him as they make their way to the exit.

The cheetah returned the gesture and waved frantically back, "Have a good night you two!" Even with them being such a distance away, the dispatcher still could understand their conversation through the quiet halls of the ZPD.

"So are you still mad at me?" Nick teased with the wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Hrm," Judy thought, tapping her chin. "Depends…"

"You know, you're adorable when you're angry." Nick chuckled but was shoved slightly to the side when Judy hip bumped him.

"Dumb fox."

"Cute bun- owch!" The fox rubbed his arm tenderly before both friends bursted out into laughter and exited the building together.

...

…

...

"Clawhauser." A deep voice emerged, slightly startling the chubby cheetah. Regaining his control, he looked to the Chief next to him. "When's the next drawing for the pool?"

In response, the cheetah fumbled with the papers upon his desk, scattering its contents everywhere. Eventually, the cheetah found the yellow slip he had been looking for and traced his finger across the amatur chart drawn on it. "Ummmmmm… Next month on Tuesday." Clawhauser finally said, gazing back up to the buffalo.

Exhaling heavy, the buffalo checked the halls for any other wandering officers before returning his attention back to the dispatcher. "Do me a favor and raise my bet by $50. I've got this strong feeling I won't regret it." Carefully, he slipped a fifty onto the wooden desk.

"Chhhhiiiiieeeefffff…" The dispatcher squealed excitingly, both paws gripped tightly on his cheeks. The buffalo on the other hoof covered his ears in response and gazed aggravatedly to his subordinate.

"CLAWHAUSER!"

"Oh! Right!"

* * *

There's a reason why those with more experience tell the youth to learn from their mistakes. For it helps them prepare better for the future, and allows them to overcome even more obstacles than before. But, for those who foolishly don't heed their warnings…

When the time is right, history may repeat itself again…

"Sir, everything is set. We're ready to begin phase one." The response caused the shaded figure to let out a high pitched demonic laugh that echoed throughout the rundown building, rattling the metal plates and drowned out the sounds of the rain.

Out of the shadows, one blood shot red eye opened itself slowly and gazed out of the broken window. "Hehe, are you ready Boo Boo? Because I got something coming for you."

* * *

 **First of all, I'd like to thank you ALL wonderfully. Currently, we are 4 followers away from reaching 100, 59 favorites, and 70 reviews! Not to mention the view count is at 7.5k! That's amazing! I read the beginning of my story and cringed at my writing yet so many of you are still following me. I seem to always try to express how thankful I am for you guys' support but I can't seem to do so. It means SOOO much! Thank you.**

 **As for the chapter, my attempt here was to create a reasonable personality to the Precinct and create a friendly setting. I hope I got the personalities of Clawhauser and Chief Bogo correct. I kept in mind the words certain characters may use. (Bogo more complex word structures while Clawhauser using idk what to call it but with all the words like 'goodness' lol. Oh god, that sounds stereotypical and offensive. Uhhh, really not intended. )**

 **I just feel so… unsatisfied. The one chapter I was really happy about when I made it, I got the one and only bad review because of it. I read a lot of other fanfics and woah, how much better they are to mine. I want to do more… I try, I just can't :l Thank you so much for those who actually believe this is the best fanfic they've read. Personality, I think I could do better (as I tried here) but still.. I wish I could do more and make it better for you guys' sake.**

 **For the message at the end of the chapter… That won't be the only one. *darkly laughs but starts coughing violently* Idk, I'm in this really goofy mood right now. :D I probably sound like some creep. *shrug* Don't care… I would've made it maybe a bit more creepier for that last sentence but I can't use visual lighting and dark sounds to increase the creep factor. If I tried anything more than that, I'd probably look like some anonymous creep and not much of a threat. Best to keep it vague ;)**

 **Remember my question at the very top, was this writing a bit better and would you like to see more of it? I do agree it's a bit more detailed in the surroundings and more words lol Or do you think 'HEY! YOU TRIED TOO HARD AND RUINED IT! rq' Please leave a review and tell me as well as tell me what you thought of this chapter. As I said before and I'll say again, I thrive off of reviews.**

 **Thank you sooo much to these 13 fine fellows here for leaving a review! I loooove reading them all, no matter if they are good, bad or GREAT!**

* * *

 _ **Story Writer 2015 -**_ **I'm very pleased that you love this story and are still enjoying it! I'm glad that chapter got such a reaction out of you, and sorry too xD Hope you enjoyed this one as well!**

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ **Just want to make it as realistic as possible :P I do realise that if this was real life, the chief probably wouldn't participate in such pointless bets but this I just wanted to let that small thing slide :3 Also, I've got another thing most probably didn't notice in the movie. Throughout the entire film, whenever Judy showed fear, her nose twitched (Gideon, conference I think, train) but during the museum and in the pit, her nose NEVER twitched once with Nick going savage. In other words, she had complete faith in him. Also means all fanfics based around Judy having fear of preds and nightmares are all wrong. She had no fear whatsoever. I have a keen eye for the little details… but not writing mistakes for some reason xD (wew long)**

 _ **Snoopykid -**_ **And Update I shall! I'm glad you think I'm sticking to the true character personalities. I sometimes doubted myself a couple of times thinking I might've ventured off but I guess I didn't. I hope Clawhauser and Bogo's were good too!**

 _ **ALookInsideMyHead -**_ **Any and every review will never go unnoticed. I respect all opinions of my followers and I'm always glad to respond :) I wish you the best of luck when you start writing your story, and I wish to know when you post it! Also, about disappointing, you have no idea how much it means to read that. Thank you.**

 _ **Anette090 -**_ **I was hoping to get that reaction out of you guys! Glad everything worked out. Everyone deserves a happy ending :)**

 _ **Pedo-Sandwich -**_ **HAHA, sorry, no can do. I'd be horrible writing that stuff and I'm struggling with the simple romance part xD Also, very pleased to see you enjoyed my OCs as much as you did the original characters. I'll be introducing a hand- *ahem* pawful new ones in the coming chapters so be prepared for that.**

 _ **Dragonfang20 -**_ **Woah, from someone of that profession, that really means a lot to read that. Thank you for those kind words. I'm really glad you enjoyed my story so far. I've got more planned... and emotion ;)**

 _ **ryt-'nd-Run13**_ **\- (Not sure if FF will cut that name out or not but we'll see lol) Very proud that you loved my decisions. It didn't seem realistic if I did that anyways (kinda why I put this chapter 4 months in the future.) Also, that was one of my main focuses when writing this story, to make sure the events played out match and fit perfectly with the movie, otherwise it simply wouldn't be believable. Thank you for leaving this very kind review!**

 _ **MrAndersIversen**_ **\- I SEE CHAPTER 4 UP AND I HAVEN'T READ IT! Duh, cliffhanger… Hey! I finished this chapter and now I have some free time :3 Sorry if my comment about playing with emotions offended you, I really didn't intend that. As you wish, I update. Very glad you are enjoying this story like a lot of others, it really pushes me forward to continue.**

 _ **Serendipitous (Guest) -**_ **Really? You think so? Well, I love to hear that! Thank you for those words and this review!**

 _ **Maria (Guest) -**_ **As tempting as that offer sounds, I'm gonna have to respectfully decline. I really don't want to put you through all that effort to translate my 65k+ word story but thank you for that offer!**

 _ **Anonymous (Guest) -**_ **Hehe, I'ma rebel :3 Tried extra hard this chapter xD Don't worry, if I'ma start something, I'm gonna finish it. So far, this story should go on for at least ~25 chapters. Haven't created a clear plot for the last 5 chapters but I'll get there eventually. I shall not disappoint! EVER!**

 _ **Gabe5Bricks -**_ **Nick and Judy fluff? Check! I'm glad you really loved that chapter. Looking back at the scene with Nick's mother, I probably could've put more effort into detailing what she looked like (Gray strands of fur, silky green dress, emerald eyes, etc.). Might go back and change that to make the scene even more emotionally charge :P But all thoughts aside, thank you for those meaningful words, it's truly amazing to have supporters like you.**

* * *

 **For those who thought the Otter's last name was cheesy, it was meant for something else. I think I planned on using Riverson first but I couldn't pass a reference up. If you didn't catch the reference, here's a hint. Harry Otter… It's also amazing how you can tell such a complicated story in such little sentences. Anybody notice Harry's mom was mentioned as Ms instead of Mrs? Dark background…**

 **Until next time! Annnnddddd… Edited by NickelAz (Too long A/N… god I'm sorry lol)**


	13. Days of the Past

.

 **FIRST OF ALL, I'd like to introduce a new story if you guys are interested. Zhe editor, NickelAz, currently published the start of a new story called 'The Birth of Zootopia'. One truly unique setting. If you guys are interested, go ahead and check it out! Easiest way is to search up his profile and go from there. Dunno about you guys, but I'm looking forward to what else he's got planned.**

 **Also, I literally can not believe this. This story has FINALLY reached 100 followers. I honestly never expected it to get so popular and was originally planning to stop after the graduation. But 75+ reviews later, and I shall continue! By the time I wake up in the morning, this story would've reached a total of over 10k views! (Currently 9.7k lol I'm betting maybe 11k by the time I post the next chapter? We'll see.) That is a huge number. Thank you all SOOO much! I want to do something special to celebrate but I'm not sure what I can really do.**

 **Could do a Q/A thing. Ask me anything and I'll answer! I might even do some bonus chapter. Not sure of what but I could try lol Any ideas? Eh, up to you guys. I really want to thank you all, as a reward, you shall get this chapter. I know, I know, not much but it's the least I can do. Thank you and enjoy.**

* * *

Reaching a tired hoof outward, the large buffalo gripped onto the silver door handle in front of him and pushed the large glass frame open slowly. The action caused the outside light to flood into the office, giving life to all objects which occupied it. The very first thing that caught his attention was the golden symbol located on the far back wall. A faint smile tugged on his emotionless face as he read the few words on the plate.

" _Zootopia Police - Trust, Bravery, Integrity"_

With the flip of a finger, light flickered from above, stealing the rest of the room from the darkness. The buffalo's wandering eyes skimmed across the room, starting at the far corner of the chamber where a single map rested on the wall. Many strings and dots were strewn randomly across the chart, creating a web of unusual connections. Underneath it, a sturdy table sat with papers and utensils arranged chaotically upon its surface. Opposite of it, a lone bookshelf rested, filled to the brim with countless law books, cases, and folders.

Eventually, his eyes rested on the light red desk in the center of everything. Taking a deep breath, he shut the door behind him and made his way around the wooden structure to sit down. During his journey, the four golden stars attached to each side of his collar periodically shined brightly, creating spots of light which danced across the distant walls of the office.

A creaking noise vibrated throughout the room when he applied pressure to the cushioned seat. "Let's get today over with…" The Chief sighed, placing a tiny set of reading glasses on top of his muzzle before sifting through the stacks of paperwork scattered around his desk.

"Where is it?" He grumbled before letting loose a frustrated groan. "I really need to clean this desk… _mpf_ later…" The buffalo promised, yet probably wouldn't stay true to his word due to the fact he always told himself the exact same words every morning, yet no change has occurred since.

During his search, a loud _thump_ startled the buffalo slightly, causing him to stop his actions and turn his attention downward. What he saw was a single tan wrapped box which that laid silently on the floor below him.

With a raised eyebrow, he reached down and lifted it back on top of his desk to open. His jaw lowered visibly as he speechlessly pulled the small white figurine out of the unwrapped package.

 _*Knock Knock Knock_

" _Mr. and Mrs. Cole? It's me again, Idris Bogo." The cape buffalo claimed, waiting patiently at the front door of a shabby home. Ambient thumps could be heard in the background, which soon raised in volume until the run-down door creaked widely open._

" _Idris! Welcome back!" Mrs. Cole, a middle aged hyena greeted with glee, immediately giving a generous hug to the visitor. After a few seconds, she released her embrace and beckoned him inside. "Well don't just stand there. Come on in, come on in!"_

" _Of course. But first I want to introduce you to someone. Sarah, I'd like to you meet my fiancé Magi. Magi, this is our neighbor, Sarah Cole." Bogo smiled politely, stepping to the side to allow the hyena to view the lean female behind him._

 _Twiddling her thumbs, she stepped forward slowly. "It's great to meet you Mrs. Cole. And I just want to thank you so much for helping us move in, I don't know what we would've done without you." Magi greeted, extending a hoof out for a shake. Instead of accepting the hoof, Sarah instead grabbed it and pulled the female buffalo into a strong hug before letting go just as quickly._

" _Oh it's no problem! Anything for a nice couple like you two. And please, just call me Sarah." She welcomed kindly, leading both buffalos inside of the house. "Go ahead and sit down! I'll be back in a minute with some drinks." Sarah stated, closing the front door before running around the corner and into the kitchen._

" _Mrs. Cole, you really don't have-" Magi began but stopped once she felt Bogo's caring hoof on top of her shoulder._

" _They're stubborn," He chuckled, "Really stubborn… No matter what you try to say, you can't change their minds. Trust me, I've tried. Now c'mon." Relaxing, Magi followed behind Bogo as they made their way through the house and onto the run down sofa setting in the middle of the room._

 _Only a few moments passed before muffled, rambunctious giggles could be heard from behind them. A few seconds later, both buffalos were spontaneously attacked from behind with strong, playful hugs._

 _A burst of laughter escaped Bogo as he easily pulled them both out from behind the sofa and onto his lap. "Well hello boys. Now what are you doing assaulting an officer like that? Hm?" He questioned mischievously, using his slick fingers to tickle their sides rapidly._

 _In return, they shrieked loudly into the open air, before containing themselves with a fit of countless giggles. Sadly, the damage had already been done to the buffalo's eardrums. "S-ssstt-opppp!" The older one finally mustered out through his smiling muzzle. With a chuckle of his own, Bogo released both canines from his iron grip, sitting the older child onto the solid ground below and the younger hyena on top of his lap._

" _Did you get us presents this time Bogo?!" Asked the younger pup excitedly, bouncing up and down on the cape buffalo's leg._

" _As a matter of fact, I did. Learned my lesson from last time." As he explained, both pup's red eyes shimmered with curiosity as they waited anxiously for the gift they were about to receive. "Here." Said Idris, finally pulling out a white box from his inside pocket._

" _These are what's called devotion sculptures." He eventually said, bringing two shiny figurines out from beneath the wrapped newspaper and towards the children's awaiting eyes. A soft smile spread across his face as he watched their faces brighten. Without wasting any time, he took the paw of the older pup and placed the larger, white ornament inside._

 _Upon closer inspection, the canine noticed how the figurine was shaped in the form of some larger mammal, most likely feline. As a finishing touch, a white tail wrapped itself perfectly around to the front of the figurine, giving it a humble appearance. "This one is yours. I want you to take it. Now it's very special because it resembles a sign of responsibility, strength and wisdom. Learn from it and take good care of it…"_

 _After ruffling the top of the older one's head, he turned his attention to the pup sitting patiently on his lap. "And for you little guy," Bogo smiled slightly, raising his arm to bring the smaller, black figurine to the younger pup's red eyes. Alike his brother, he also noticed the resemblance of a feline character, only younger and smaller in appearance. "This one I want you to have."_

" _Well what does this one mean Mr. Bogo?" The youthful hyena asked in awe, examining the dark figure closely with interest._

" _Well, that one represents respect and individuality." The reaction wasn't exactly what Bogo was hoping for, as it slightly disappointed the child._

" _But why does mine only mean two things? Is it not as important?" The pup frantically asked, eyes wide with worry._

 _A light chuckle escaped both Bogo and Magi. "No, not at all kid. Just because your ornament as less words to describe it, doesn't mean it is any less significant because yours is actually the center. Here, lemme show you." He explained, grabbing both figurines back from the paws of the hyenas. "These are no ordinary gifts. They're actually meant for each other. See." He showcased, placing the smaller, black figurine perfectly snug inside of the white one._

 _A new image came to light as the larger ceramic figure hugged the smaller black figure carefully, tail fully wrapped around it in comfort. "Alone, they may seem pointless…. but together, they mean so much more." After finishing his train of thought, Idris grabbed the older canine's paw and placed the ceramic set in his palms. "Promise me you'll be there for one another, both of you."_

 _Closing his grip tightly, the older hyena looked up with determination burning in his red eyes. "We promise Boo Boo."_

"Chief." The intercom whistled, snapping the buffalo from his thoughts. After rapidly blinking a few times, he eventually sighed and put pressure on the flashing red button.

"What is it Higgins?"

"The bullpen is ready sir." Sinking in his chair, the chief exhaled audibly before taking off his reading glasses and pressing the illuminated button once more. "I'm on my way."

Just as he stood up from his seat, he looked back at the white figurine on his desk one more time. Slowly, he grabbed it and brought it up closer to his gloomy eyes with interest. "Where are you Andrew?"

* * *

Yawning loudly, the fox stretched his body across the entire seat, purposefully posing an arm in front of a certain bunny's face. As usual, the bunny swatted the limb away and scowled at her partner. "Would you stop that Nick?"

Smacking his lips, Nick gazed back at the bunny with sleepy eyes. "Hm?" Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, causing him to smile deviously at Judy.

"Nick… Don't. You. Dare."

Even with her subtle warning, the fox still continued on with his plan and stretched again. The only difference this time, was instead of pushing his arms in the air, he sprawled himself across the entire chair they sat on and slowly pushed the lone gray bunny off.

A very harsh poke into his side immediately caused the fox to retract. "Ow!" Nick chuckled, scooting over to return the lost space to the bunny.

"You know you two should _really_ just kiss already…" A voice calmly stated from behind. With a soft groan, Nick rotated his body completely around and stared back at the white wolf with sleepy eyes.

"Come on! Please not you too Scout… Now you're starting to sound like Clawhauser." The comment caused the other arctic wolf beside him to let out a light laugh, drawing attention to herself. "Watch out Doc, I think your brother has some freaky fetish with us."

"Oh I don't doubt it." Luna replied easily, which her brother playfully shoved her for.

"But I think he's right Slick." A more feminine voice called out this time from across the room.

Groaning, Nick rotated his body to the right a bit more to view the lioness across the room. "You too Kib?" He asked in disbelief.

Kiburi shrugged and closed her eyes. "Hey! I'm just expressing my opinion." The slightest feeling of warmth built up in his cheeks but he ignored it and returned to his original sitting position.

A _thud_ then echoed throughout the room as Nick slammed his face onto the desk in front of him, promoting the occupants around him to laugh. "Carrots, don't freak out now… But I think we're surrounded by creeps." He managed to mumble out from his muzzle.

" _Chief!"_ A hushed whispered resonated from the hippopotamus standing at attention next to the podium. The one word was followed by the sounds of rattling and clanking behind the fox as some officers finished their games of arm wrestling, while the other mammals straighten themselves out in their seats, awaiting their superior. Not long after, everyone rose to their feets when they heard the holler from Higgins. "Ten-hut!"

Almost immediately, the officers began to bang their fists onto the tables **,** eyes distinctly trained on the large buffalo walking across the room and towards the podium. The whole time, smiles and laughs occasionally sounded spontaneously as they shouted _hoos_ in unison, perfectly in sync with their fists.

"Quiet…" The chief grumbled without looking up from the stand, but no change occurred. "Alright, alright… SHUT IT!" He firmly ordered, blowing hot air out of his nostrils and caused all officers to take their seats immediately. No one dared to continue.

Snorting, the buffalo placed a small pair of reading glasses on top of his muzzle and spoke gruffly. "A new shipment of gear arrived yesterday and I expect each and every officer here to put some time into the firing range."

"Aw, c'mon Chief, we're not _that_ bad of a shot." Nick said, resting his head onto the palm of his paw.

The chief just rubbed his sore forehead in response. "Please not today Wilde…" With the light jab in the fox's side from his partner, the fox became silent. However, the officers behind him struggled to keep their giggles to themselves.

"Next, it appears that the number of thefts and robberies has increased over the past few months. Most of the reports come from large market areas. When you're out on your assignments, keep a vigilant eye out for any possible wandering paws." Even though Judy's attention was completely on the Chief and was listening fully on the buffalo's words, she lacked the attention on the outside world to heed his advice.

Suddenly, her tall, long ears were jolted backwards, breaking her from concentration and forcing her gaze upwards towards the ceiling. Not long after, she was released from her captor, allowing her to move freely once more. " _Nick!"_ Judy hissed, aggravatingly slapping the fox as he attempted to breathe. The officers behind them weren't faring any better than the fox.

"WILDE! This is not some children's playground! Keep your paws to yourself or I swear you are _that_ much closer to desk duty! Is that understood?" The chief shouted, emphasizing his words by squinting his fingers together just enough to create a small sliver of space in between.

"Alright, alright. Jezz, don't get your horn in a twist. I'll be good, promise." Realizing his defeat, he rose both paws into the air and gazed to both animals staring daggers at him. "You really need to let loose… So bossy." Nick grumbled to himself as he smoothed out the wrinkles that coated now his uniform.

After a long staring contest with the frisky fox, the buffalo eventually spoke. "Whatever… Assignments… Officers Grizzoli, Fragmire, Delgato. Patrol in the Rainforest District. Officers Higgins, Snarlof, Trunkaby. Patrol in Sahara Square. Officers McHorn, Carsons, Wolfard, Hero. Patrol in Tundratown. And finally, Officers Hopps, Wilde… Patrol in Savannah Central. Any need for assistance with technical devices are reported to Officer Cotton immediately, such as traffic cameras and bank alarms. Now get out of here, you're all dismissed." Without another word, he left the room without looking back.

"Seems to be especially chipper today, eh Carrots." Nick nudged as he helped Judy off of the large chair.

"Well with your antics, I'm not surprised. Now let's go! We got some criminals to catch!" Judy said as soon as her foot touched the ground. Not long after, she blitzed through the mess of officers, towards the door, and out of sight.

* * *

"You really think this alley is gonna keep us from being seen?" He dryly asked, taking off the seat belt and adjusted himself in his seat.

"Not really, just thought it'd better in here than out there in plain sight." Judy shrugged and took the keys out of the ignition. Both officers then gazed out of the front window to the many pedestrians of the morning market. Their ambient noises of communication became muffled thanks to the closed windows of the cruiser. Silently, they both watched expressionlessly, carefully observing the crowd outside for any suspicious activity.

…

…

…

"Sooooooo Carrots… We have a weekend coming up, right?" Nick finally broke the silence.

 _27 seconds… Not bad Slick…_ "Mhm…"

"Annnddddd that day we planned a game night, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, what if we scrapped that for another day… and maybe go see my mother instead?" Nick spoke unsurely, anxiously waiting for the bunny's response. Her partner on the other paw, was recollecting her thoughts as she was trying to make sure she heard him correctly.

"International Station of Carrots, do you read me? Heeelllllloooooo?" Nick waved a padded paw back and forth in front of her vision, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Oh sorry, just had to savor the moment there." She eventually responded, confusing the fox who unintentionally tilted his head to the side with one ear upwards and another slanted to the side. "I mean, I could've sworn you sounded scared there for a second." Judy teased.

"Ha! And what does the great Nicholas Wilde have to fear?"

"Blackmailing cops, large polar bears, powerful shrews, the unstable vines from the Rainforest district, getting flushed down toilets, horrible press conference speakers…" She counted of the tip of her fingers. "Oh! And psychotic sheep." Judy replied easily with a neutral expression. Only for a few seconds their faces remained a serious expression, until they both impulsively bursted out into laughter.

Eventually, both calmed down to a reasonable level to speak. "Sly bunny." Nick chuckled, wiping his eye from any tears.

The bunny wasted no time in replying. "Dumb fox."

Both officers smiled brightly at each other before turning their attention back to the outside world. "You know you still haven't answered my question though. She's been dying to meet you again."

Slightly startled at realization, she responded quickly. "Sorry! I'd actually love to! I really didn't have that much of an opportunity to do so before... Anyways, I think we should talk about it later. Right now, we need to concentrate."

"Cool, cool…" He responded, slouching in his seat and blowing air out of his nose. Idly, his claws tapped on the side of the door.

 _Tap..._

 _Tap, tap…_

 _Tap, tap, tap..._

 _Kladunk!_ "I know... Let's play a game!" He suddenly sprung up, youthful energy fully restored.

 _It was only a matter of time…_ "What do you have planned this time?" Judy asked in monolog, turning her body to face the fox who hopped up and down in his seat erratically.

"Oh come on, don't be like that Fluff. This'll be fun! Trust me." Nick commented, placing an unoccupied paw on his chest, to which Judy responded with an eye roll but listened carefully none the less. "Here, see that platypus walking over there? All you have to do, is guess what he's doing before he walks out of sight. Easy right? Now go ahead, you first."

"Hrm…" She observed him walk carefully but was confused on what she could find. "Nick, it just looks like any mammal crossing the street."

"Wow, what a naïve, dumb bunny." Nick chuckled, shaking his head in the process. "Look closely to how he's dressed. Fancy huh? Also, you can clearly see he spent some time combing that fur of his. See his paws? Flowers. And don't tell me you didn't notice that strange behavior? I mean just look at him! He can't stop readjusting his tie and combing his fur. Pretty much screams ' _I'm on a date.'"_

Very impressed, Judy bobbed her head up and down approvingly. "We'll look at you. Profiling random mammals on the street! You're seem rather good at this."

"Carrots, I made a living off of targeting specific animals. That's nothing. Seriously, even you should've got that." He said with no emotion, raising a smug eyebrow her way.

"Alright hotshot... Theeennnnnn… what about that guy?" She pointed indistinctly out of the window.

In return, Nick sighed and shook his head. "You're gonna have to be more specific than that sweetheart." He responded, but received a soft punch on the shoulder for the nickname. Though Judy was a bit frustrated the fox, the named felt oddly comforting to hear.

"Ugh! That gnu over there." She pointed irritatingly. In the distant, busy market area, a lone wildebeest could be seen like a ball of color in a gray painting. Dressed in a bright blue shirt with tan shorts, he walked down the sidewalk with a phone in grasp, gazing solely downward to the device. He continued to boredly walk for some time until something seemed to catch his attention, causing him to stop dead in his tracks at a nearby tent filled with gadgets and trinkets. Other pedestrians bumped and cursed as they irritatedly maneuvered around the immobile mammal.

Closely inspecting the individual for a long ten seconds, Nick concluded his answer. "Tourist."

"Really? And what makes you so sure of that?" Judy crossed her arms. He really didn't look like a tourist from this distance

"Their species usually travels in large groups of family and friends. I also thought I saw him stop a minute ago to take a couple pictures. Must've been sending them out to his group earlier."

"Nick, that's racial profiling." Judy deadpanned, her single stink eye staring holes into the fox's skull.

"Except he didn't commit an offense… I , I was on a roll! Give me another one."

"Fine… That pig."

"Single, still in college, and broke. I think I see a slight stumble in his step. Must've been drinking earlier."

Impressed, she examined him herself, only to find he wore a single, raggy Zootopia university shirt as he walked sluggishly down the street. _I can see that…_ Judy then turned her attention off of the swine and onto a new mammal. "And the bunny?"

"Small animals? Really? Ugh…" Nick groaned, leaning closer to the dash to get a better look. "Hrm, dressed fancily, walking without a care in the world. Maybe ignorant and self centered? Millionaire? Though, I don't know any millionaire bunnies around Zootopia. Could be going to a job interview but I'm not so sure..."

Rolling her eyes, she continued to sift through the crowd. "Okayyyy… How about that panda over there?"

Casually, he took out his sunglasses from his pockets and placed them comfortably on top of his muzzle. "Looking for a nice gift for the missus."

"And…" Her heart jumped. "What about that weasel?"

"Hrm?" He followed her finger and gazed towards the shifty weasel as he rocked on his heels, looking both directions before he began to walk down the street. "Shiftly, troublemaking, and up to no good. Bingo! Let's go get him." Nick hopped out of the cruiser and blended into the crowd, bunny closely shadowing behind.

Both officers then stood in the shadows of the streets and waited for some more probable cause to go and investigate further as their gazes fixed onto the single weasel make his way around the streets. After long moments of observing his surroundings, a single arm of his quickly jumped out of his pockets towards a nearby table and returned to their previous position in breakneck speed.

Both bunny and fox cop looked at each other and nodded simultaneously before enclosing the distance on the weasel entering a nearby alley. Without a sound, they both snuck up behind the single predator, only standing a foot away from him.

"Ahem…" Nick announced with crossed arms, significantly startling the weasel. He then turned around quickly with ragged breaths, almost clashing noses with the fox in front of him.

His wide eyes visually calmed down as he deflated with an exhale. "Wilde! You shouldn't scare someone like that! What are you doing here anyways?" The weasel greeted nervously, avoiding eye contact with him and instead gazed to the bunny behind him.

Unimpressed, the fox continued to stare emotionless at the weasel with crossed arms. "Weaselton, we both know you're are acting very suspicious. Now would you tell us what's in that pocket or are we going to have to do this the hard way?"

"Wha? What are you talking about coppa? I ain't hiding nothin."

Sighing, Nick looked to his partner in support. In return, she also exchanged a sigh and walked up to the weasel. "Duke, please put your paws on that wall over there." Judy commanded.

Stumbling back a few inches, Duke's mouth dropped slightly. "Wut? But I haven't done nothin!"

"We have probable cause to search you, now please don't make me repeat myself." The bunny replied, placing her paw on her hip. Reluctantly and hesitantly, the weasel did what he was told and slowly walked to the nearby brick wall.

Taking a deep breath, Nick patted the weasel down, digging deep inside his jacket pocket. "And what do we have here…" The fox asked himself as he took the contents of the slot out to light. "Shrink wrap and… duct tape? You aren't planning on kitnapping anyone soon, are you?"

Weaselton tried turning around but was shoved back onto the wall. "You know me Nick! What would I have to benefit by doing that? I was gonna use that stuff to repair my ride, I swear!"

"You have a vehicle now?" Nick questioned, giving the items off to Judy as she ran out of the alley to return the items.

Duke groaned in frustration. "Seriously? Like you, I changed! Got a nice, healthy job that pays well." Although he spoke with confidence, the fox wasn't buying it.

"Then why did you have to steal?" He pushed on, tapping his foot as he awaited an answer. Then, a smell hit him. Sniffing the air rapidly, Nick leaned closer and closer towards the weasel, who seemed to be sweating bullets at every passing second.

After he was certain it was coming from the suspect in front of him, Nick leaned back with a raised eyebrow. "Is that speed I smell? You sure you went clean Wesselton?"

"It's _Weaselton_ \- Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" He asked, feeling a course paw touch the bottom of his legs. Not long after, he lifted them up and ripped the clear bag of pills attached to the leg.

"Ain't that a shame… Oh well… Duke Weaselton, you are under arrest for petty theft and possession of an illegal substance." Just as he finished his sentence and safely stored the baggie, the weasel bolted around the fox officer and towards the busy streets.

 _Clink!_ Echoed the sound of clicking metal, restraining the weasel from the use of his arms. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning…" Judy easily repeated by heart, dragging the squirming weasel out of the alley and to another which the police cruiser was located at.

* * *

" _Finally…"_ Nick sighed in relief, raising both paws in the air in victory and accidently dropping the pen in paw on his face. "Remind me again why we have to do this..." The fox asked, rubbing the top of his muzzle to rid it of any ink marks.

The bunny took her time before replying, stretching out completely in the rolling chair until the sound of a smooth _pop_ was heard. "Well, we caught the perp, which also means we get to deal with the paperwork that comes with it."

"Ugh, just forget I asked. Hey! At least we get to go home now." The new idea instantly renewed his lost energy, causing him to perk up and wag his tail in excitement.

Judy on the other paw, thought it was the cutest thing in the whole dang world, and that's saying something. A muffled giggle escaped her as she walked over to her partner's desk and picked up the stack of papers he recently finished. "I've gotta go turn these into Clawhauser. I think Bogo specifically wants one of these too." Judy commented, struggling to keep her balance with the stack of heavy reports.

A thought of helping her crossed Nick's mind but he quickly dismissed the idea as he watched her stumble, almost knocking the paper stack over. "Cool, I'll clock us out. Meet you outside." Nick chuckled with a wave, making his way out of the cubicle and towards the exit.

…

"Home sweet home." Judy breathed in happily, standing proud on the inside of the room.

"Really? Couldn't tell. Maybe that placemat gave it away." Nick sarcastically commented, earning him a snicker from the bunny as the fox shut the door behind him.

Whistling, Nick nodded his head in approval. "I still can't believe your parents got you this place." He placed both paws on his hips as he skimmed the room. The new apartment was very much spacious than her previous shoebox. The new place was complete with a roomy living room, decent sized kitchen, a single office, and two bedrooms, although one was only a guest room.

"Well, if you come from a successful carrot farming family who doesn't have anything better to use their money on, stuff like this just… happens." She called out from the office.

Walking down the hallway, his eyes trailed the countless family portraits hanging on the walls, easily spotting the purple eyed bunny in those she occupied before he stopped at the room which Judy occupied. "I still think this room makes you look like some creepy, psychotic selfie stalker." Nick chuckled, observing the faraway bulletin board. Scattered across its surface, rested countless printed photos, all containing both fox and bunny, along with some other individual. A new photo was currently being added to the board by Judy, which contained both officers and a grumpy looking weasel being escorted into a distant jail cell. "He did _not_ like us taking that."

"Don't care. It's too late now anyways, it's already taken and printed." Judy pipped easily, stepping back to observe her master piece. The entire back wall was effectively the board, due to the fact that there wasn't much room to fit anything else. Countless selfies of the two friends were spread in all directions of each and every task they solved together… Including a couple pictures of paperwork.

Unlike the wall, the rest of the room wasn't much to look at. A few filing cabinets were placed oddly throughout the room, along with a single bookshelf, stuffed with novels and legal books. In a far, secluded corner, an eerie desk rested, only illuminated by the light from the metal lamp. Empty space of the room was filled with various green plants and flowers and a dark blue carpet, giving the room a more friendly atmosphere.

Once done observing, the fox casually walked out of the room and plopped down onto the red sofa located in the living room. Setting both feet on top of the wooden table in front of him, he adjusted himself in order to get comfortable. Reaching over to the nearby cushion, he grasped the gray controller before pressing the red button at the top, turning on the distant TV. Not long after, a content sigh escaped him as he closed his eyes.

But his peaceful rest was interrupted by the gray bunny who jumped up from behind and plopped down onto the sofa next to Nick. "So! What are we watching today?" She asked, offering the bowl of popcorn in her grasp to the red mammal.

"Weeeeellllll…" Nick began, accepting a handful of the treat as he scrolled through the contents of Pawflix. "I'm sorta in the mood for a horror movie right now. What do you think of 'Unfriended'?"

"Hrm… I haven't seen that one before, but it might be good…." The bunny tapped her chin in thought before she made up her mind. "Eh, why not. We'll probably regret it later but let's do it!"

"C'mon, I heard it's not that scary…" Nick dryly rolled his eyes and pressed the play button on the remote. As the movie began to play, both mammals snuggled up close to each other, probably a little closer than normal…

But neither mammal noticed.

* * *

In the darkness of the night, a single mammal pulled out a smart phone from the pocket of his tux, turning it on, allowing his bunny face to become visible. His eyes skimmed the empty streets for a couple of seconds before he dialed a number quickly and held the device to his ear.

"Sir, I did what you asked. … Yes, I'm certain he got the piece. ... No, no I haven't yet but we might need to be cautious about it and not draw attention to ourselves, a couple of cops may have slowed down a few things."

* * *

 **Woah, this chapter was filled to the brim with information. I really hope it doesn't seem too much for you guys and doesn't seem overwhelming. Let me know if it felt that way so I can work on that stuff later. As always, I do want to thank everyone again for all your support! It really helps push me forward. What I have planned and stuff, I think you'll like. But to be honest, I'm kinda worried some might not like when it gets emotional and stuff… There will be a lot of that here, especially towards the end. God, I'm too paranoid. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I really don't want to disappoint. Many said in the reviews before to not worry but I tried and failed miserably xD**

 **Btw, Bogo's first name was chosen from the actor who voiced him in the movie. :D Oh and another thing, that's probably the only other POV I'll show in great detail other than Nick and Judy's. It was essential to the plot to add that. Hope you don't mind. Another thing, Luna's nickname (Doc) was from her previous dream of becoming a doctor and Echo's (Scout) from… well it just sounded fitting. Don't judge me.**

 **Anyways, I'ma keep this Author's Note shorter this time. Huge thank you to these 12 people for leaving a review!**

* * *

 _ **Story Writer 2015 -**_ **Thank you soooo for recognizing that. I'm really glad you understand :) This is all a learning experience for me and I'm just dying to improve. Also, the next arc as begun… Hehe…**

 _ **Pedo-Sandwich -**_ **Fwuff Chapter c: But that clearly wasn't the full intention of the chapter. I hinted on a lot of other information throughout the chapter subtle or maybe even not so subtly lol I'm glad you liked the chapter**

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ **Nice, I liked the writing style better too. And now that I think about it, yeah, Bogo does have a more playful, mischievous personality than everyone gives him credit for. "Parking duty, dismissed! … Just kidding!" Hehe, I thought adding Harry in there would be a nice touch, I'm in love with how I subtly told a thousand words in just that conversation alone. *sighs* And you'll find out who this mystery villain is really soon enough...**

 _ **Snoopykid -**_ **Very proud that you're liking it! It's awesome to write this story and even more to receive great reviews in return!**

 _ **Gabe5Bricks**_ **\- Lol, this chapter flowed right out of me. Didn't really concentrate on writing hard on this one (darn lazy me :l), it just… came. But I hope you like it as much as the other one just as much! Thank you so much for the support and for worrying. But don't worry, I'm still very much enjoying writing the story.**

 _ **MrAndersIversen -**_ **Completely honest here. I have your story chapter on a tab currently on my computer, waiting to be read. And out of habit, I have a tendency of reading the last few paragraphs of the chapter. All I have to say is… REALLY? CLIFFHANGER?! *storms off in a grumpy mood* Nah jk, as soon as I post this story, I'll read it and tell you what I thought. Anyways, I'm really happy you liked this chapter and I hope you like this chapter just as much!**

 _ **Junick is awesome**_ **\- I know you're awesome… Heh, see what I did there? What? No? *walks away***

 _ **ALookInsideMyHead -**_ **Thanks! I'm glad I got the personalities right, one of my main priorities. I hope I didn't push it with Wilde in the bullpen being mischievous as normal. Oh well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Thank you for your kind reviews and I'm looking forward to reading your story once you are ready :)**

 _ **Zootopia fan of Fiction -**_ **Big thank you for those kind words of encouragement. It's an even greater honor to have readers like you check out my story. Really, thank you.**

 _ **Guest -**_ **Hey! Welcome to 'Doors of Change' and I'm glad you are liking it so far. I have a ton more planned so stick with me as I set all that up. Also, I thought so too with the Gazelle concert. Just wished I would've done a better job at explaining that part, maybe even start the chapter off with that concert. Meh, what's done is done. I'm glad you liked it anyways!**

 _ **lefalleneur1 -**_ **Anything I can do to returned the kindness you bless onto me. Thank you for reading through my story and staying with it as I continue onward. I'm also very pleased that the ending of the chapter got the response I was hoping for. I hope you also enjoy this chapter as well! Thank you again!**

 _ **Starfang's Secrets -**_ **Woah, interesting name. It's also cool to see your reaction for each chapter. Thank you for reading through and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! Thank you for your kind support!**

* * *

 **Woah, so many kind reviewers! Thank you all a lot for all the support! It's absolutely breathtaking to wake up in the morning to read reviews such as yours. I may not be the best of a writer but I'm glad what I give you love nonetheless. Please tell me what you thought of this chapter as well! I want to see who can connect the dots I spread out. Well, as promised, shorter A/N! Until next time!**

 **Edited by… where'd he go? Oh there you are NickelAz! Bik tanks c:**


	14. Matchmaker

.

 **Wow, I never expected so much support, even when I first began this story. Last chapter, I guessed the story would reach a total of 11k but instead it reaches 12k! I know sometimes know I go on about these numbers, and I hate it when I sound like some bragging, self centered writer but I don't do it for the fame or the popularity, I do it because writing lets me express emotion I can't do in real life. It's like some hobby you can actually practice and improve on. All you guys' support is all an added bonus. And I must remind you, I am definitely not the best writer. So if some of what I write seems boring, slow, obvious, or just cringe worthy, it's because like many others, I too am human. In other words, I make mistakes and I'm definitely not perfect. But for those who actually truly enjoy this, I want to thank you so deeply for all your support. It's just another added drive to keep me going.**

 **Thank you, and enjoy.**

* * *

Matted fur, muffled sounds, a dry mouth, and not a single ounce of energy left in his body. Yep, the fox knew the feeling. Perhaps a little too well. There had been many days in the tod's past where he'd spend a _long_ night, casually chatting with a buddy while sipping a glass of cool beer.

Ah, those were the days… but they always seemed to end the same. He'd walked through the streets, arm slung around his short, canine friend, and watch the heavens spin circles around him. Then, in those mornings, he'd wake up, face planted on a shabby sofa, drool hanging from his lips with the world's most unbelievably unbearable headache.

Though he wasn't drunk at the moment, or experiencing any of it's symptoms, the sensation felt the same. Dry mouth, muffled sounds, lingering feelings of delight, and an entire muzzle stuffed deep inside the crevice of a couch. Definitely a familiar setting.

...Yet different.

Yep, those were definitely days to remember. Except he was a different mammal from the one snoozing on the sofa. Back then, the fox liked to consider himself emotionless, or near emotionless at times, and still did. Sure, he'd experienced fear, pride, sadness, and even jealousy back then, but never showed it to the world. Why would he? That would be a sign of weakness and that was something you really didn't want out in the dangerous streets of Zootopia.

So he prided him with his motto ' _Never let them see that they got to you,'_ gladly wearing it on his shoulders for all to see. After all the harsh years of experience on the streets, not even the most harshest insult could even crack his mask. He'd just smile, laugh and throw an insult back.

But… That was until one clever bunny knocked him completely off course. And to be honest, he wasn't sure what to make of her. When they first met, even for as brief as it was, he thought he figured her all out. Just some naïve, dumb bunny with big dreams and a shiny badge.

Conning since he was the age of twelve, the fox prided himself in his natural ability to read others. The skill even helped him escape the most treacherous of situations and still did. But _boy_ , was he wrong with her.

Sure, she had been naïve, and she still has big dreams, but if there was one thing that bunny wasn't, it was dumb. With careful words, big bunny eyes, and the best leverage she could get, she managed to hustle a _professional_ con artist into helping her solve a case.

And the fox thought he was smart.

At first, he saw it as nothing more than a game. _How long will it take until she cracks under pressure?_ But no matter what he'd throw at her, no matter how much he'd mess with her _oh so_ precious time, no matter how much he'd mess with her emotions, she always, _ALWAYS_ get right back up, dusted herself off and knocked the sole fox down instead. And that's what shocked him the most.

Of course he'd experience blackmail, threats, and even being hustled once or twice during his hardened life, but it usually took his aggressors days, even weeks of research to even set him up. But then here comes some cute, little bunny hopping up and down across the street, who manages to drag the smooth-talking fox halfway across Zootopia without breaking a sweat.

Yep, and all it took was 48 hours, two fateful days in order to change both lives forever. Now, the fox had a job, an actual job which paid decently; true respect for who he was; and a chance to correct his past mistakes. And best of all? He got to spend each passing second of that time with a friend who truly cared, even if they were on opposite sides of the food chain.

It wasn't long before the fox opened up to the bunny; 38 hours after working together to be exact. Normally, he'd rather jump off a bridge before he'd do something as stupid as that. But in that humid air on that decaying wood, there was no way the vulpine was going to let another soul go through the heartbreaking experience he had went through. So… He told her his most vivid nightmare without even realizing.

His buddy Finnick hadn't even heard that story in god knows how many years they'd known each other. But frankly, the fennec didn't care. Occasionally, the small predator questioned his irrational behavior around muzzles before, but never went too deep into it. Afterall, almost everyone on the street as some sob story to tell… Even Finnick.

But did the fox regret telling his gray friend? No, no he did not. She listened without a single interruption, let him get everything off his chest, and even offered him her support.

During their entire time together, the duo quickly moved from being enemies, to acquaintances, to friends, to partners, and eventually… to best friends. And still, their bond only grew stronger as time went on. That's why if you were to question what they were now, the fox couldn't give a straight answer.

They talked, played, and spent tons of time together like any other friends did… But there were those moments of lingering paws, close quarter cuddling, and obsessive hugs they shared. Sure, they told everyone that it was normal in their relationship, and assumed it was normal with others... but in the deep corners of their minds and out of sight, a small sense of satisfaction could be felt from each other's touch.

Soon… He planned on opening up even further and bringing her to where it all began; home. And to be honest, he wasn't quite sure why he asked her anyways. The words came out of the fox's muzzle without him even realizing it. He had plenty of times to turn around during that ever so short conversation… But he didn't. Sure, his mother kept pestering and pestering him to bring her over some time, but he knew that wasn't the reason why he asked her. And the more he thought of why he did it, the more confused he became.

But right now, the fox was content. Thinking would have to happen later because right now, he happily rested on the soft cushions of the sofa, hoping to get a few more winks of sleep…

…

…

…

"Nick." Or not… Yep, he knew it was a hopeless cause. With a groan, the fox mustered all the strength he could summon and lifted his skull just enough to turn his head to the side before gravity pulled it back down.

Nick then gazed with half closed eyelids to the morning mammal. "Hm?"

"Ugh! C'mon you lazy fox!" Judy complained, tugging on the fox's red and black paw.

A sudden urge to stay overcame him, filling the fox with energy as he retracted his arm and covered his head. " _Mpf..._ Nnnnooooooo…" Nick whined, curling his entire body into a small ball, tail easily covering his eyes.

Light soon flooded back into his vision as a soft, gray paw removed the fur from his eyes. "Really Nick? Get up!"

The fox scowled as he positioned the tail over his eyes again. "Carrots, I'm pretty sure _normal_ mammals use their free time to _relax._ Something I fully intended to… embrace…" He dozed off, content sigh escaping his muzzle.

The experience was however short lived, interrupted by the force of Judy's pull. "Really Nick? You're on my couch, in my apartment, so my rules. Now get your lazy tail up so we can go to work!"

"Nnnnoooooo mmmmmm… too… comfy…" He squeezed together, truly showing the flexibility of foxes before exhaling satisfyingly.

 _*Kladunk!_

Suddenly, Nick jolted awake, pushing himself up from the hard floor he now rested on. After long moments of thought, his brain finally caught up with his surroundings as he got up and sat back down on the couch. "Ugh, Judy! Why'd you do that?!" He rubbed his head, trying to comfort the throbbing pain.

His partner raised one finger in the air, and used the armrest of the sofa to support her weight from toppling over of laughing; it wasn't every day you manage to successfully aggravate the fox. Maybe that's why he did it so much to her. After a few more humorous moments. she eventually took a deep breath and exhaled audibly. "Well, how else was I supposed to get you up?"

The fox's mouth opened widely as he yawned and stretched before snapping shut quickly, smacking his lips. His tired eyes eventually focused on the bunny in front of him. "Ugh, I didn't want to get up…" As he spoke, his eyes unintentionally drifted downward until they closed. But the light jab in his side kept him from napping. " _Mpf…_ Coffee…"

"Ugh, why do I have to put up with your lazy tail." She sighed, "C'mon! You can get some coffee at the precinct _sloth_." Judy giggled with the shake of her head, and dragged the fox by the arm away from the sofa and towards the apartment door.

* * *

With the events of the precinct behind them, both officers now sat contently in the warm car, driving down the lively streets of Zootopia. No conversation was initiated by the two, creating a comfortable atmosphere. The only sound that could be heard came from the engine's hum and the synchronized rhythmic breathing patterns of the two mammals. The silence in which they created was a comfortable one, something they often shared. In moments like these, they really didn't need to speak to feel satisfied, just the presence of the other mammal beside them was enough.

The rundown blue car navigated through the concrete jungle, passing many significant locations and monuments. Eventually, the car quickly approached an incredibly thick, steaming wall before it disappeared into the tunnel beneath it. But when the car reemerged from the large wall, the boundless skyscrapers in the distance vanished in an instant, replaced only with a wonderland of ice and snow.

Due to their sudden change in temperature, the clarity of the windows began to blur as droplets of moisture began to form on the windshields. The driver's gray paw moved to a button on the side of the car to roll down the windows and allowing the cold, arctic air to enter. As an effect, the fog disappeared, but sadly, so did the warmth.

Many stops, direction changes, and lots of shivers occurred before the car eventually came to a halt in a somewhat creepier part of the district. The buildings surrounding them were littered with colorful symbols and gang signs, while trash rested everywhere snow could touch. The car itself was parked behind many other run down, snow covered vehicles like itself, blending in almost perfectly. But they'd have to wait a while longer to build up the snow like the other cars.

After rolling the windows back up, the bunny turned the key of the ignition and the hum of the car was removed. Sounds of chattering teeth and sharp breaths were all that remained. A warm blue blanket was soon brought over the bunny to keep her from shivering any longer by her partner, who also wrapped himself in a similar blanket.

Now… They waited.

The fox took a sharp intake of air before he spoke in the stereotypical newsmammal voice. "A-and here we are. Today, we will witness this historical event where the two star officers freeze to death in the cold, arctic environment. This is news anchor Nick Wilde coming to you live from Tundratown. Miss H-hopps, what do you have to say regarding their c-current case?" He spoke, pointing an imaginary microphone in her direction.

Judy looked at Nick without turning her head with an unimpressed expression before sighing and pretended to talk into the microphone. "I c-cannot disclose any confidential information on the current case t-they are working on at the moment. Thank y-you." She giggled, pushing his paw away.

"See! That wasn't so hard. I swear you're getting better every time!." Nick easily smiled, canines shining brightly due to the nearby alley lamp.

"Ugh! No way. Stop trying to get me to do any more press conferences Nick. No matter how hard you try, I said I was done with them." She spoke difinitively, crossing her arms and looking away from the fox and to the warehouse in front of them.

"Aw c'mon Fluff… Don't be like that." Nick whined, giving pouting eyes to his bunny partner. In return, she turned her head back to him and gave him the same unimpressed look at the start of the conversation before turning away. Nick shrugged and dropped the act. "Eh, worth a shot… Hrm… Hey! Now that we're awake and _obviously have plenty of time on our paws,_ what'd you think of that movie last night?"

After a moment of thought, Judy just shrugged nonchalantly and avoided his eye contact, instead gazed to the shifty animals arriving at the warehouse in a white van. "Eh, it was alright."

Nick looked sideways with a raised eyebrow. "And what'd you think of the ending?"

"It was… good. Didn't expect that." She shrugged, sinking further into the comfort of the warm blanket.

A sly smile steadily broke out across the fox's muzzle. His eyelids became half closed as he watched his partner closely. "Oh yeah? What happened at the end then? Hm?"

Judy opened her mouth to respond but no words found her. She tried this a couple of times before she finally turned her attention to the confident fox beside her and spoke, words dripping with uncertainty. "Uhhhh… They all… died?" She smiled bleakly.

Nick leaned back, bringing both paws out of his own blanket and slowly clapped at her response. "Bravo Hopps, bravo! Didn't think you'd get it. Well, for someone who fell asleep halfway through the movie that is." He smiled devilishly, hiding his paws underneath the blanket once more.

The rabbit just shook her head and sighed. "Oh shush. Every typical horror movie ends up that way. It wasn't that scary anyways!" She claimed, throwing her arms into the air for no apparent reason.

"Really? My tail still hurts from you squeezing it so tightly!" He emphasized, bringing the bushy tail from out of the blanket's protection and to her curious eyes. Slowly, he petted the fur softly and slowly pressed it onto his face. Not a few moments later, he groaned at Judy and hid it underneath the blanket. The glint in his eyes were replaced with a playful scowl, staring daggers at the bunny snickering behind her open paw.

When she finally brought her paw away from her mouth, a devious smile could be seen as he face morphed into the same sly expression Nick's face usually created. "I was cold... Besides, this is coming from the fox who hugged me to death throughout the entire movie." She pointed accusingly at the fox, whose wide eyes flickered between her finger and her own lavender eyes.

The fur on his neck slightly spiked while warmth built up in his blood. Covering it up, Nick just rubbed the back of his neck, smoothing out the raised fur and spoke unapologetically. "Guilty." As he spoke, his face morphed into a neutral expression but the smile present on his face never left.

Before any more words were contributed, the buzz of the portable radio came to life. The sound of one energetic cheetah claimed over the awkward silence of the car. "Officers Wilde and Hopps, this is dispatch. Any new information your assignment?"

Without wasting any time, the bunny reached over and grabbed the corded radio, unfortunately sacrificing her warmth in the process. "Negative dispatch. Suspects arrived as predicted but we're still waiting on a client to arrive, over." She informed, looking up at the arms deal progressing in front of them.

"10-4. Report any new findings. _Have fun you two!_ Over and out." They could practically feel the smile on his face before his line ended.

"10-4." At that, she sat the radio back into its place and the silence returned. To minimize boredom, both mammals occasionally occupied some time by watching the deal go down.

During the time the fox wasn't looking out of the tinted window, he occupied his time by tapping away on the rectangular device in his paws while Judy recalled the events of this morning. Soon, a questioned formed in her mind, causing her to turn her attention away from the shifty mammals huddling together. "Wait, I distinctly remember waking up in my bed. How'd I get there if I fell asleep on the couch?"

"I carried you to your bed." He wasted no time in responding, eyes still boredly gazing down at his phone. After a few seconds, his words finally sunk in and his eyes went wide. He then snapped his head towards the still confused rabbit with a sheepish smile. Ever so slightly, the fur on his neck spiked again as he spoke quickly to reassure her… but mostly for himself. "What? Don't look at me like that. I wasn't gonna let you steal my spot." He shrugged, looking back down at his phone again. "Also, real talk, do you know how heavy you rabbits are?"

A swift and powerful kick into the predator's side quickly removed the sly smirk of his face. "GAHHHH!" He cried, dropping his phone to the floorboards. Whimpers escaped him as he held onto his now injured side. " _Mpf! Curse you and those insane legs of yours."_ Nick eventually hissed through clenched teeth.

"I thought you would've learned by now to keep your complaints to yourself. Dumb fox." Judy chuckled. Although, she was slightly concerned for her red friend, but was soon relieved when she heard the sound of laughter emanating from him.

After a deep breath and a sideways stretch, he breathed out words. "Abusive bunny." Nick chuckled. "Oh hey! We still got that weekend coming up. Mind if we set up plans now or are you in 'work mode'?" He asked, using his fingers to quote the last two words.

Judy lifted up a single digit to her chin in thought. "Well, since it's to see your mother, I think I can let it slide this one time."

"Woah a free-be. That's new… Anyways, I was thinking about meeting her around three, maybe fourish, that way we have time for something to eat and to _actually wake up._ Sound good?" He said, purposefully raising his voice for the last part, which earned him a light jab on his shoulder.

"That's a little late, don't you think? Why not earlier?" She asked curiously.

"Carrots, we're nocturnal… and she's old. Ma needs her rest. That so happens to be the time she finally wakes up." He explained matter-of-factly.

She opened her mouth to complain but found nothing to complain about. After sighing, she gave in. "Fine. But that means we'll have an entire half day of nothing. What are we gonna do in the meantime?"

"Well, sleeping is always an option." He suggested but after receiving a glare from Judy, he rose both paws into the air. "Okay, okay. No sleeping. How about we play some games. We don't have to scrap game night completely. It'll just be… game day." Nick snapped his fingers together at the thought. Judy's forehead slammed onto the rim of the steering wheel, purposefully avoiding the horn and sighed. Nick's finger found its way to her side and cautiously poked.

 _Tap._

 _Tap.._

 _Tap..._

After the third poke, Judy's head shot up from it's resting place and swerved toward the fox. "Grr! _Nick!"_ She growled playfully, swatting his arm away and lightly punched him back. The whole time, Nick was struggling to breathe.

Their playfulness eventually died down, and they both returned their attention back to the suspicious mammals out in the cold environment, sitting close together in foldable chairs near the white van, which hadn't moved since their arrival.

Another thought popped into her mind, something she had given thought to before. Turning her attention toward the fox, she stared intently at Nick, deep in thought. The predator soon noticed her staring out of the corner of his eye and also turned his attention toward her, but she continued to gaze onto him. Slightly uncomfortable, he squirmed a bit in his seat. "Uh, Carrots. Glad you like what you see but… what are you doing?"

"You need a date." She claimed, expression still in the intense staring mode. The flabbergasted fox broke eye contact and his eyes went wide. "Wait, wha? Where'd this come from? Are you joking?" He sighed, returning his eyes to her and poked in between her eyes, breaking her out of the trance.

"I'm serious! You're back in touch with your mother, have a dream job, and a best friend. Now, all you need is someone to share it with." She piped energetically, bouncing up and down in her seat.

Nick closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead. "Carrots, I don't need a date."

His answer caused Judy to stop bouncing and look to her partner with gloomy eyes. "Aw, c'mon Nick! It'll be fun, just try it out and see how it goes." She begged, leaning closer to the fox and made her nose twitch slightly.

A single black paw rose to block his vision, but curiosity got the best of him. Once he peeked, there was no going back so he let gravity take hold of his paw. "Ugh, fine. Only one."

"Five." She replied immediately, voice still full of spirit.

"Huh?"

"Five dates, you don't find the perfect match that easily." She explained while jittering in her seat.

The fox narrowed his eyes and examined her closely, carefully weighing his options. "Two." Nick said, mischievous smirk forming.

"Three." Judy said instantly, mouth mirroring his smirk.

"Deal." As soon as the words left his mouth, the bunny turned her attention away from the fox and to the phone which now occupied her paw.

The events that had just transpired finally caught up with him and his smile melted off his face.. "Sly bunny."

"Dumb fox." She countered, typing rapidly on her phone.

 _What did I just get myself into?_ Nick sighed, he knew there was no backing out now. "What about you? Shouldn't you also find a date?" He asked curiously and observed the bunny.

"Don't need one." She replied without looking up from the screen. For a second, her eyes narrowed onto the screen before returning back to the normal position.

"But you're a bunny." The tapping of her fingers stopped as she rose her head slowly to the fox. Nick brought both paws in the air in surrender. "Didn't mean it like that! Just thought it'd also be good for you." He nervously chuckled, but it was enough for Judy.

Judy shrugged carelessly and returned her attention back to the phone, paws hard at work on the screen. "Eh, I'm perfectly happy with what I've got now." Nick shook his head and eyed the bunny suspiciously. _But isn't that what I feel?_ As quick as the thought came, he just dropped the subject and let her do her thing. Afterall, she's just trying to help him.

After a few seconds, Judy eventually spoke. "Question number one: Are you straight, bisexual, or gay?" She asked without hesitation, not uncomfortable in the slightest with the question.

Nick pulled on his ears and mumbled to himself. " _Ugh, this is stupid..._ Straight." He sighed.

Judy nodded her head and continued to type across the screen. "Number two… wait, nevermind… three… Hm hm hm… Uhhh, number four: What type of animal are you looking for?" She asked, pulling her head up, slightly interesting in his response.

The question itself caught him slightly off guard. A good bit of thought had to be put in before he could form a response. "Eh… I dunno… A good personality I guess? Someone who could actually keep up with me." He shrugged, completely unsure of what he just said.

Judy on the other paw, thought about what he said for a few moments before nodding her head and turned her attention back down to the phone, humming. "Mhm…" Once again, only noises of breathing and tapping could be heard. "Oh, last question. Are you open to interspecies relationships?"

Nick just shrugged carelessly and looked back to the winter wonderland outside. "Eh, sure. Why not?" Judy smiled faintly and tapped away at her phone.

Once all the profile questions had been answered, she soon scrolled down to the final red button at the bottom of the screen. ' _Create'._ But her thumb hesitated slightly when hovering over the button. Judy closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. _Relax Judy. Deep breaths… It's for the best._ With a deep exhale, she opened her eyes and pressed ' _Create'._

"Hey Carrots, looks like our crooks are packing up. Shall we nab them?" Nick's voice called out. Judy then looked up and followed his pointing finger toward the direction of the mammals who began to fold their chairs together and return them to the van.

Quickly, the bunny grabbed the radio and pressed the button. "Dispatch, this is Hopps. Looks like the client isn't showing up. The perps are beginning to leave. Permission to advance?"

" _Mmmm…_ Permission granted Hopps, proceed with caution. Good luck you two, over and out." Clawhauser buzzed through the other end, although the sound of his munching was the most clear throughout the conversation.

At the green light, Nick opened up the glove compartment and took out two air powered tranquilizer guns. The guns in his paws were the brand new ones which were based off of the design of Bellweather's previous model and was specially made for the duo. Thankfully, the design allowed more than one round to be fired at a time, making their job in sedating the four suspects _much_ easier.

After putting on the heavy duty ZPD jackets from the back and grabbing a gun for themselves, both officers looked to each other and smiled. Simultaneously, both jumped out of the car and skillfully aimed the guns directly at the group of mammals. Four continuous hisses sounded, just before all four perps put a paw to their necks in confusion. Before they could even register anything else, all bobcats fell limp into the snow below.

Judy wasted no time and ran over to the suspects, attaching pawcuffs to each of their wrists. With a skip in his step, Nick also followed behind her and walked casually up to the van, all the while humming the catchy tune of ' _Walking in a Winter Wonderland'_.

Once they were sure they were sure the perpetrators were secure and certain there wasn't any other suspects around, they walked to the back doors of the van and opened it.

Nick's eyes widened and a whistle escaped him. "Wow. Looks like my informant was right. This really _is_ a big load." He chuckled, moving out of the way for Judy to see. Her eyes too widened in response.

"Now this would be a great picture for the wall." She chuckled, eyes impressively skimming the selection of high powered assault guns and rifles hanging from the metallic walls. Strapped cases of grenades were stacked haphazardly across the ground, accompanied by other small cases of ammo. "Wonder who was gonna buy all this stuff…"

"Whoever it was, they'd have to buy the van too in order to carry all this stuff. Think we scared em off?" Nick suggested.

Judy shrugged nonchalantly and took her phone. "Could've thought this was a trap. I guess we'll never know." Opening the camera app, they positioned themselves behind the van so the camera could get a good angle on the contents and Judy raised the camera up high. Just as she was about to take the picture, some distant noise caused her to stop.

"What is it?" Nick asked, paw hovering over his gun holster. After skimming the empty streets, Judy sighed. "Nothing, just the wind… Smile!"

"Good job partner!" Nick congratulated, bring a paw up in celebration. The bunny quickly jumped high into the air and high fived his paw. Together, they closed the van's doors and walked to their undercover car, mainly towards the radio. "Gah, this stupid assignment is gonna cause me to shed all week. My winter coat is already growing." He complained, grabbing chunks of fur out of his arm.

"Aww, poor foxy." She chuckled, hip bumping him.

What they didn't know was a well dressed bunny was breathing heavily behind a dumpster and watched the two make their way around the van, backs facing his way as the walked farther away from the figure. Seeing his chance, he bolted away from the scene and into a secluded alley.

With deep breaths, he nervously took out a phone and brought it up to his ear. His blue eyes darted his surroundings suspiciously. "Sir, I didn't get the package, the deal went sour. A couple of cops were watching the deal, just as you predicted." He paced back and forth, fingers running through his thin fur. "A bunny and a fox cop." He continued, attentively listening for any new noises. "Yeah, that's them. What do you want me to do now? … Understood. Savage out."

* * *

 **Okay, the reason why this chapter may have taken longer to write than usual is because I did a little bit of last minute changes to the storyline. What I originally had I thought was a bit rushed and not satisfying. Also, I thought I could get that idea of dating out there, as you can see this chapter. Originally, I planned them to go visit Nick's mom this chapter, but I put it off later. SORRY, it'll come. Now my fear is that this is going too slow. So I cut a chapter out. GAH! It's so hard to write a decent storyline that is great. Okay okay, I think I'll stick with what I've got so far… No more changes… I hope. *Nervously shutters* Well… I lock in my answer… There's only one way to find out if you'll like it or not… Here goes nothing :l**

 **UGH! There is so much I want to do, so much that I know would make the story a little better, but not enough space and thrill to fill it all. I fear some of the stuff I plan seems rushed, boring or just confusing. Jdkjsaghfsdjkahsdkfjha Well… *unsure sigh* I guess what I have now will be the solid plan. My only hope now, is that you like it no matter what. Only one way to find out. Now I can fully concentrate on the story and let all those worries go… Hope you enjoyed. (Romance is much harder to write than I thought lol BUT HEY! I swear I did 3000% better than that cringy romance part I tried last chapter. Ah, who am I kidding. I still need a lot of improvement xD)**

 **Ah, oh well. People didn't get where they are now without taking some chances. Here's me doing that similar leap of faith. Anyways! Thank you** _ **sooooo**_ **much to these awesome people for leaving very kind reviews! Hehe, new format for these. Looks nicer, huh? Might have to go edit the other chapters to have the same look to it. Must… Be… Perfect...**

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 _ **Dark Fox Tailz -**_ Haha, couldn't help it. But… nope, not saying. CAN'T MAKE ME! Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter and I hope you liked this one too. Wasn't too cringy, was it? Bah, I suck at romance, any advice would be much much appreciated

 _ **Pedo-Sandwich -**_ Yey! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well. Trying to get that running start here. How'd I do? Also, that name Andrew I just used because of a previous friend I had when I lived in Kansas. But yey! Hi Andrew (Totally not creepy calling someone online by their real name... ) Sorry, I'll stop xD

 _ **Story Writer 2015 -**_ GAH! Good ideas, and so little room to add them. I'm actually not sure if I will do a catch up with Bella and Judy. I mean, I might, seems relevant but just don't want to bore readers with the minor details or is that just me worrying to much? Eh, well, I'm glad you enjoyed that chapter and I hope this one was also good. Ugh, not too slow now is it?

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ Thanks! I'm glad you noticed the things I wanted to point out in the chapter :P And for the mysterious villain, over time, you'll know who he is and what he wants. I think… At least, I hope… *Sigh* Oh well… Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! And haha, yup. It's still a creepy movie though.

 _ **Gabe5Bricks -**_ Hey! Really glad you enjoyed that chapter, and I hope you like what I have planned for the future. I mean, I'm not even sure myself because of my own personality getting in the way (always wanting the best for someone, it's actually quite annoying. Makes reading tense stories all the more interesting.), but for the benefit of a good story, I shall set all that aside. I did a little bit more description in this chapter… Did you think it was too much? Or am I being paranoid again. Decisions, decisions, decisions lol

 _ **Sayiri the Fox -**_ *Sigh* it's reviews like these that hurt me the most. Yes, the plot isn't perfect, but neither am I. This is my first fanfic so I'm bound to make cheesy and simple mistakes. I'm sorry if it wasn't satisfying enough but it's the best that I can offer. I've already learned a lot from those previous chapters and I hope the future plots I plan won't be as obvious as that one. I'm sorry…

 _ **ryt-'nd-Run13 -**_ Thanks! It means a lot to hear those words, and I hope I didn't push too far with detail this chapter. I'll see what ya'll think in the reviews I guess lol Also, question on what species Magi is. I figured just to make her a cape buffalo just like Bogo. This is in the past, way in the past, society might not be so open to interspecies couples as they might be now. Just a thought anyways. And for the stupid duo cops, remember, they're dumb bunny and dumb fox, they'll figure it out eventually xD

 _ **ALookInsideMyHead -**_ Yey, but I think I can be a bit more funnier with him. Not much of a joker in real life so it's a nice challenge. By the way, the only real reason why I made Nick pull Judy's ears is because 1) I wanted to emphasize Judy's concentration, 2) Nick would want some reaction out of Judy, maybe try and get some attention, and uhh... 3) It was a cheap way to make conflict. *sheepishly smiles* Eh, but seriously, in this chapter, did I go overboard with the description or did you get into the story like the last chapter? (Btw, those words actually felt good to read, thank you so much for that) Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well! Annnnddd finally, congratulations! You have received the reward for the longest reply this chapter! How does that make you feel? *points imaginary mic your way*

 _ **Anonymous -**_ GAHHH! Hacker! Haha sorry, instincts. For your first question, I'm not sure. Schools approaching so I have to be mindful about that and what I have planned should go all the way to about chapter 25. I don't want to stress myself by thinking farther into the future right now, I still don't know if you'll like what I have planned still. But I'll find out. For your second question, sure, it's uhh… where'd it go… I'm sure I left it here somewhere… Sorry, I'll let you know once I find that darn card. Ugh, this is bad… Just… gimme a minute.

 _ **Lefalleneur1**_ **-** Yup, I thought so too. There's a lot of things that could be seen as cliché, sorry if those are obvious. I'm trying to avoid stuff like that but some things are hard to dodge lol I too liked that flashback of Bogo, thought it was a nice element to give you fragments of information. Also, be honest with me, does this seem slow? Because this romance part will be going on for maybe 2-3 chapters, depending if I'ma add that third chapter or not, before it goes intense. (OHHH how much I want to write that part… hehehehehe) Gah, I'm such a perfectionist… and paranoid…

 _ **Zootopia fan of fiction -**_ All your questions will be answered eventually. Also, technically not their first movie night, because these chapters are 4 months in the future of the ceremony. The reason for this is because I didn't think it would be realistic for me to start out their romance problems right after the academy. They need to attract slowly... Ya know? But anyways, thank you so much for that kind review and I hope you enjoyed this chapter also. I'm really glad you think this is one of your favorite fanfics so far.

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 **I now realize why my A/N are so long. I think 5k-7.5k words of my entire story are just A/N words. Wish I could remove that from the count :l But hey, I don't see a problem with long response sections. As I see it, it's just me trying to have a friendly conversation with you guys. You guys deserve a long response, not some short one ;) Well, that's all I have to say for now. Please leave a review on what you thought of this story, I REALLY want to know. Your response or questions will be guaranteed answered. For those who haven't already, please follow/favorite for more! I have more stuff planned.**

 **Anyways, thank you guys and see ya later!**

 **P.S. For me, that Unfriended movie wasn't that scary. Creepy, very creepy, but not scary. It's actually a great movie, 10/10 should watch. *cough* Not sponsored... *cough***

 ***Deep breath* EDITED BY NICKELAZ *nods head and walks away***


	15. A Table for Two

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 **Hey everyone! Looky here, another chapter. But before that I'd like to say something. Yes, a couple of you guys might be thinking this story going a little too slow…. I KNOW! A good writer should never have to worry about that but I'm not the best as I expressed many times before. I'm trying to get things moving but what I have planned for the next two fluffy chapters are sorta important for the plot progression. But, it will just be this chapter and most of the next one until you intense action fans get what you deserve. I for one LOVE fluff, so it's fun doing all this stuff with Nick and Judy. Don't judge me c: Sorry if it feels slow, I'm trying here. It makes me feel terrible to admit that :l**

 **Anyways, thank you sooooo much for all of your support! The reviews I get every chapter is amazing! Thank you for that. I hope you guys don't mind a slightly longer chapter than my normal sizes (I think this is the longest I've even done too). PLEASE let me know if long chapters bug you and I'll see what I can do. I know some aren't a fan of long chapters and some like them very much (I'm part of the long chapters squad xD) Well anyways, without further ado, I give you the next chapter. A table for two...**

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Serenity. Such a word is widely used to describe moments of stillness and peace… and there couldn't have been a more perfect word to describe the current setting.

Today was quiet. The sun shined perfectly behind the few parting clouds in the sky. Nothing but the howling wind and laughter from the outside world could be heard. Instances such as these were forever treasured by any animal cursed with the gift of enhanced hearing. One such animal was named Judy Hopps, who was unfortunately born with long ears.

The morning hasn't been the rabbit's best of days; her coffee soaked uniform and stubbed toes could easily prove that. But with the added bonus of her enhanced ears, to say the bunny was a little grouchy was an understatement.

As of lately, noises like the rumble of the streets, her joyful family, annoying partner, and the gossipping co-workers of the precinct were slowly annoying her. So to be able to lie on the soft, black vinyl seats with arms crossed behind her head, eyes closed, and nothing but the comforting noises of nature's ambiance was a nice change to experience.

Judy never before thought she'd enjoy the simple task of morning patrol, but like time after time, the world seemed to always prove her wrong. Now, she didn't think anything was wrong with morning patrol, it certainly was better than desk duty, but it _just_ wasn't her cup of tea.

Her thing was most certainly found in the thrill of foot chases, as well as the opportunity to meet new mammals daily. What could she say? She was a social mammal. Unfortunately, both of which could only be found on foot patrol. Her partner and herself were instead cursed with the task of circling around Savannah Central.

Though, there were some things she was thankful for. One of which was having an understanding partner who quickly noticed her sour mood and was more than willing to give her some well deserved space. The fox even offered to drive instead so she could take the time to relax, which she fully intended to do.

Of course, normally that steering wheel was as good as hers, as she often hogged it from the red furred fellow beside her, even if she knew nothing dramatic would happen anyways. The streets in the morning were too cramped with mammals and cars heading off to work for a speeder to be able to even try their luck. And the bandits and thieves sneaking around couldn't be spotted behind the window of a moving car that easily.

That wasn't to say that patrol wasn't completely useless, their presence alone was enough to make anyone aware of the cruiser be on their best behavior. So, to sum morning patrol up… It. Was. _Boring._

But with a certain fox by her side, nothing ever seemed boring.

"Blue one…" Nick called out, causing Judy to pry one eye open and look out the window.

"Hrm… Red one." In return, the fox glanced sideways out of his sunglasses to the exhausted bunny for a fraction of a second before looking straight to the cars on the street.

"Blue one... Hrm... And there's another blue one." Nick teased, pointing a paw out the window. "And another... and another. Seriously Carrots, if you don't find some red cars soon, I'll win this for sure." He chuckled, returning both paws onto the steering wheel.

Judy dramatically sighed before bringing both arms out to assist as she rose from her position. "I don't that will happen slick. I haven't lost this game yet and I don't plan to. Besides, I'm pretty sure I'm ahead of you." Her long, bunny ears rose as she sat straighter in her seat, undeniably proud smile spread wide across her face.

"Carrots, you're behind by twelve points. You sure everything's alright?" The touch of concern was eminent in his voice, but hidden well among the other words. Judy exhaled and slouched her shoulders, allowing gravity to pull her ears back down.

"Yeah. You don't have to keep asking me that you know." She chuckled before returning back to a more serious state, "It's just… I dunno. I guess I've had a lot on my mind lately." Judy shrugged, leaning an arm onto the door and gazing out to the citizens of Zootopia.

"Oh? Like what?" He continued on, guiding the cruiser into an open parking space before shutting off the engine. Once his seatbelt was unbuckled, he rotated his body to his right to allow himself to direct his full attention to the bunny.

It took a moment for Judy to recognize that the car had stopped before she finally removed her weight from the door. She then gazed to the fox who now leaned on the driver's seat. "Well, mainly family..." Judy finally responded.

Nick straightened himself out in his seat and lifted his head up. "Really… Huh, so lemme get this straight... You're starting to become tired, exhausted and are missing home, correct?" He finished, pointing a single clawed finger the bunny's way.

Judy didn't respond immediately. Instead, she occupied the absent time by gazing to the roof in deep thought. "Well… Yeah, I guess." Her voice croaked as she spoke, while her shoulders rose and fell periodically.

Nick nodded his head understandingly in return. "I knew it. It was only a matter of time. You, my friend, need a vacation." He leaned forward, smiling ear to ear.

"Huh?"

In response, Nick jumped back and threw his paws in the air, accidently smacking them on the driver side door in the process. "Aw c'mon, you know! Those weeks specifically saved so you can spend some time _not_ going to work." He explained, raising one eyebrow and looking at her half lidded, all the while rubbing his sore paw.

The bunny cop deflated before speaking, her monotone voice echoing throughout the cruiser. "I know what a vacation is Nick." She sighed.

Nick stayed silent this time, raising his eyebrow even higher than before while leaning closer. After a few agonizing seconds, he finally dropped the act, and shook his head. "Well, to fix your problem, I think you need a vacation." The fox commented as he folded his arms across his chest.

Judy furrowed her eyebrows, eyes unfocusing from the fox in front of her and began to blur on the distant surroundings. "I dunno. I mean, what about here, like my job? What if something-"

"I don't think anything will happen Fluff." Nick quickly cut off, but the stink eye from the bunny made him hastily explain. "Crime is at an all time low. Nothing's really going on around here; there aren't any major event coming up or parades. Even if something _were_ to happen, that's what other officers are for."

Judy's mind scrambled to find a reasonable argument against his statement, but she drew nothing, and sighed heavily. "Ugh, I know, I know…" Slowly, the bunny rotated her body to face forward again as she harshly rubbed her face but stopped at a thought. "But what about you?"

Her soft tone soothed Nick's ears, so much, he turned his attention away from the bunny and gazed forward. "Eh, I'll probably be assigned parking duty or desk duty." Nick body shivered while single strands of fur rose from his neck. "I might even get lucky and get assigned some temporary partner. But I don't think Buffalo-Butt would be that nice to me. Ah, but don't worry, I'll be fine. Trust me, you need this."

Her voice quickly rose in pitch, eventually becoming a soft whine. "I can't just abandon you on something like that." She said, gazing toward him in disbelief. When he looked back at her, a natural smile softly spread across his face. Nick then shook his head and ruffled the top of her head, but his paw was swatted away almost instantly. "I know! What about if you came with me?" Judy then perked up almost instantly, slight bounce in her seat.

Nick's spirits rose slightly as his mood improved to see her with her energy back. Though, the question remained and he regretted his answer as soon as they left his mouth. "Gah, and feed Clawhauser's propaganda? No way." His pointy ears fell flat on his head as he watched Judy's eyes fall while she completely drooped in the seat. "Aww, cheer up fluff. Where's your signature energy I know and love? C'mon, I'll be fine. You really need this Judy and I'd just be getting in your way." He said, removing the pair of shaded sunglasses on top of his muzzle and he opened the car door.

"Wait! Where're you going?!" She sprung from her seat, crawling over to the driver's side and sticking her gray head out of the window.

Without looking back, the fox rose an arm into the air and showcased the styrofoam cup in his paws as he crossed the busy street. "Refill." His blue clothing and bushy tail quickly vanished into the crowd of passing goats, and out of sight for Judy.

Judy was now only left with collective sounds of conversations and distant honking noises. Slowly, Judy brought her small head back into the car and slouched into the seat, mouth still hanging open.

Though, there was more she wanted to say, her partner left her no opportunity to speak her mind by his sudden departure in his quest for coffee. _Typical Nick…_ She closed her eyes and sighed, rubbing her pounding forehead.

A part of her felt saddened by his absence. She wanted nothing more than to confront Nick and explain to him that he wasn't going to get in her way. In fact, he'd most likely make such an experience more enjoyable. Of course, that wasn't an option now, which he probably did on purpose. But in the part of her mind, she was somewhat relieved.

Such a reaction made her feel terrible inside. It wasn't that she was starting to get annoyed with his usual antics, that was just Nick. No, it was instead that feeling of not being entirely truthful to him. Sure, she didn't exactly lie… more of dodging a subject sort of speak.

Things had been on her mind, Nick was correct like always when it came to things like that. It's just family wasn't the main reason like she said it was.

Maybe she _did_ need a vacation, just some time to just clear her head and fix the problem in a more familiar environment by herself. The idea did have it's benefits.

A loud _klunk_ followed by a cold breeze elected a squeal out of Judy as she jumped, heart beating fast. Though, once her eyes rested on the fox who flinched away reflexively, her visually relaxed. "Don't scare me like that Nick." She sighed, plopping back down in the seat and placed a paw over her heart.

"Wut?" He mumbled through a muzzle full of donut, particles of it's baked goods flying out and being caught by the light draft. After swallowing, Nick spoke up. "Uh Carrots, are you wanting to drive… or?"

Looking down in the seat she sat in, she noticed she still occupied the driver's seat. Her ears sprung to action as she hopped up. "Oh! Woops! _Sorry_ … Lost in my thoughts." Judy trailed off, moving over back to the passenger's side.

Nick snickered and threw a pink box onto the seat while climbing up into the car. After he got situated in the seat, he gave a cup of warm liquid over to the bunny and sat his cup down in the cup holder between them. "You tend to do that a lot, you know. I'm beginning to fear I might lose you in that cassum." As he started to close the cruiser door, a sharp jolt to his shoulder made him reach for the handle to keep himself from falling out. "GAH! Ouch, _dang_ Judy…. I'm gonna have to report you for police brutality one of these days." Nick mumbled with an unmistakable smile as he slammed the door.

"Hot chocolate?" Judy asked hopefully, leaning closer to the beverage to smell.

"Just the way you like it. Sorry it took so long, but since good buddy Sam is on vacation, there's that new employee working there who thought I was going suicidal or something. Took me a full 5 minutes to explain to him that the chocolate's for you, not me." Nick chuckled. His words were followed by a loud slurp and a sigh of relief from himself. After breathing in deeply, Nick then sat the cup back down into it's holder and fumbled with the box on his lap.

"Still can't believe chocolate's poisonous to you..." She sighed, inspecting the steamy beverage in her paws.

"Well, yeah. It is to all canines, not just foxes... Huh, makes me wonder what it tastes like..." He trailed off, concentrating more heavily on the box in his lap instead. Judy giggled as Nick licked his chops and wiggled his eyebrows while the fox took out a napkin from the inside. A lightly glazed donut soon came out into view and in front of the bunny's eyes. "Donut?" He offered, to which Judy accepted with her free paw.

"Thanks." The bunny mumbled, cautiously sipping on her hot drink as she tried not to burn her tongue. She then was about to take a bite out of her glazed donut but like the hundredth time before, stopped at a thought. "Wait, shouldn't we be on patrol? It's not lunch time yet." She asked, peeking a look at the dashboard.

Nick sighed and shook his head. "Relax Fluff, nothing's happening anyways." The fox then licked his chops again and stuffed himself full of the donut. A light hum of approval escaped him as he swallowed. "I was hungry and there's nothing like a box of donuts to fill in that problem."

Judy dropped her eyebrows and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. " _Right_ , just feed the stereotypes... That's something we need." She rhetorically said as she took a bite out of her donut.

"Don't judge me. I learn from the best." The fox shrugged carelessly, taking a pair of keys out of his pocket and placed them inside the ignition once more.

A sly smile spread across the bunny's face as she licked her fingers clean. "And I'm sure Clawhauser has taught you many things." She scoffed. A huff of hot air came from her partner as he guided the cruiser out of the parking space and into the streets.

The car then entered a silence. Lively sounds of the police radio kept the car at a reasonable level of comfort. Though, Judy's voice easily caught the attention of her partner. "Hey Nick?" She asked softly as the car slid to a stop at a red light. Nick slowly turned his head over towards Judy with pinned ears. "Red one." Her face quickly morphed into a competitive one while she lifted a finger up and pointed to a distant object. "There's another red one over there too. And look over there! At this rate, I'll catch up in no time."

Nick's jaw fell loose as his eyes widened. He snapped his head back to the street and leaned over the steering wheel. "But.. ah.. Wah? _Where are all the blue cars?!"_ He nearly screamed, checking every possible car in the area of it's color, all of which happened to be without a bluish tint.

A burst of laughter escaped Judy before she sighed heavily and shook her head. "Ohhh Nick. Don't you know red is a better color." She snickered, taking a sip of her drink.

"Of course I do! C'mon, my fur is red for crying out loud!" He complained as he threw his paws in the air to which his partner snorted in response. "Wait, shouldn't you be blue because of always wanting to be a police officer and me be red because… well, I'm red?" He asked at another red light, turning his attention toward the bunny.

"Hmm… Nope! I saw more red cars this morning so I knew which color I needed to be in order to win." Judy immediately piped, voice rejoiced with energy.

A groan escaped Nick as he chuckled. " _Sly_ bunny." He said as the vehicle began to move again.

" _Dumb_ fox."

With that, their banter ended in the usual manner they always do. The atmosphere they shared was significantly better from that of the morning. Both mammals wore a proud smile as they scanned the streets for any unwanted activity.

The population of the streets also significantly decreased as the light in the sky increased. Now, only a few pedestrians roamed while even fewer cars drove. The sound of chirping bugs could be heard instead of the rumbling of engines and mindless conversations of the residents. It was a sign that rush hour was over.

The vibration in Judy's pocket stole her attention away from a pig examining a fruit stand. Instinctively, she reached inside and pulled out her phone, quizzically looking at the new notification.

"FINALLY!" She screeched but was jolted forward as the car skidded to a halt.

" _What's wrong?!"_ Nick asked frantically as he turned towards Judy.

It took a few moments before Judy finally adjusted herself back into her seat. "And you said _I was_ a bad driver…" She chuckled, looking out at the near stop sign before returning her focus back to the phone. "Nothing's wrong."

Nick furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth slightly. "Wah? Then what was that for?!" He exclaimed, throwing a paw in the direction of her phone.

"There's a match!" She answered giddily with a slight bounce as she sat.

"Already?" His tone already dropped below the levels of a robot. He then sighed while returning his attention back towards the street and allowed the car to move.

Judy shrugged and tapped away on the device. "Weeeeell, technically… There's about twelve matches... but that doesn't matter. Those aren't worth your time. But this one, I think is the one." She claimed enthusiastically.

Nick groaned and removed one paw from the wheel to rub his now growing headache. "Carrots, you _really_ don't have to do this. I'm perfectly fine with the things that they are now." He said, dropping his paw onto his lap and turning his head for a second towards the bunny.

Judy stopped tapping away on her phone and turned her head towards the sour fox. "Oh _no…_ We made a deal. Just three dates, that's it. After that, I'll be out of your fur. Promise." She swore. Though, a new stinging feeling entered her gut and an apologetic gazed stared down at her phone, slowing her typing fingers down. Of course, Nick noticed.

The fox slouched into the seat and sighed. " _Fine…_ What'd you got?"

Judy shook her head and snapped herself out of her stupor. "Uhh, one Elisia Carter. She's a red fox who works at a mechanic shop. She's new to Zootopia so you shouldn't know her already." The bunny explained, twisting the phone around so Nick could get a view. Though, he refused to look until the car made a complete stop at yet another red light.

Once he got a good look, she turned the phone back around and tapped rapidly on the phone once more. "She responded already! Would… you… mind.. if.. we… have… the… date… tonight?" She said out loud as her fingers danced across the screen.

"Careful Carrots, you're starting to sound like Flash. And aren't we working?"

Judy didn't respond right away, instead focusing more attention onto the phone. A _ding_ emanated from it to which the bunny celebrated. "She said 'sure'! And the date isn't scheduled till 6 PM, we don't work that late. You'll be fine." She said, brushing the air away with her paw.

Nick bleakly whined and sighed. But of course, thanks to Judy's hearing, she easily heard it. "But I thought we were gonna go for a hike then! What happened to that!?" He thought suddenly, a hopeful expression grew on his face.

"It won't hurt to skip it one day… We can try again later..." She thought out loud. Though, the more she thought about it, the more her brain told her otherwise. Eventually, her fingers skidded to a halt and she stared distantly, deep in thought. But this didn't last long as Judy shook herself and explained her reasoning further. "Besides, she says today's her only day off this week."

Nick repeatedly opened and closed his mouth, trying to come up with some excuse possible. Many did eventually came to mind, but the fox realized that no matter what he'd try, his resistance was futile. _I was looking forward to that trek..._ Nick sighed as he rubbed his head one last time.

 _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

 _(Time Skip - 5:30 PM)_

"Carrots, I know how to tie a tie." He scowled into the mirror as the bunny below him tugged and pulled at his trademark purple tie.

Judy wasted no time in order to reply, blowing out a breath of hot air. " _Please…_ I have not once seen you do it yourself. You just stick a premade tie over your head and say you're done." She fumed, tugging the tie again with more pressure and slightly cutting off the fox's air supply.

"How do you think they were made in the first place!" He squeezed out before the pressure was released. "Besides, it's a good way to save time." He said, mischievously raising one eyebrow and gazing to the bunny with half lidded eyes.

"It's called being lazy." Judy retorted back immediately as she brushed off the few strands of fur on his hawaiian shirt. She then jumped back and nodded her head approvingly. "There! Now c'mon, don't be shy. Give me a twirl…" She smirked, twirling a finger in a circular motion.

Nick rolled his eyes but did what he was told, holding his arms out to allow her to get a better view. "Perfect!" She exclaimed, smiling proudly at her work.

"Ain't I always?" Nick shrugged while loosening his tie. Judy rolled her own eyes and swatted his paw away before pushing him towards the exit.

"Go get her tiger!" She said with a deep breath and a final shove.

It took a second for Nick to catch his balance before he dusted himself off and looked towards the bunny. "I think you need more carrots Carrots. You're eyes are playing tricks on you. I'm clearly a fox." Instinctively, he flinched back and ran out the door before her raised fist could collide with his shoulder.

Judy's eyes watched the fox run down the corridor and out of sight before her paw went limp to her side. _Deep breaths Judy. Just relax…_ She told herself over and over in her mind, all the while taking relaxing breaths.

 _Remember… It's for the best._

…

The bright, flashing lights of Nick's phone captivated him as he leaned onto a nearby pole, patiently waiting as the sun set in the distance. Though, he found the situation somewhat beneficial, Nick still didn't like having to waste time.

Even during his hustles and cons, every second counted… including the few seconds of sleep he could steal every now and then. Even one minute could be the difference between life and death on the streets. But the sounds of huffing and puffing drew his attention away from the hypnotic device and to a raggy looking vixen running his way.

The first thing Nick noticed about the lady was the dark blue dress she wore. Even from such a distance, wrinkles and creases could be clearly seen in the clothing. As she approached closer, the details of her reddish fur could be seen, and the mats and tangles also became visible.

She slowly skidded to a stop in front of Nick and bent down over onto her knees while raising up a single digit in the air. Slowly, her black purse slowly slid off her other arm and hit the ground before she rose up.

"I'm… _sooo_ sorry… about that. I uh, got caught up in, eh, something." She said between breaths while avoiding eye contact with the tod.

Nick chuckled and pocketed his phone. "It's fine. It's a bit chilly out here though. Why don't we talk inside." He offered, pointing a paw towards the bright neon 'diner' sign. Once she nodded her head, he guided her towards the diner and politely opened the door, allowing her to enter.

"Thanks…" She mumbled while walking into the diner with her head down. Quietly, both vulpines made there way to an empty booth and sat down on opposite ends of the table. Fumbling with her thumbs, she abruptly threw her paw across the table. "I'm Elisia Carter by the way."

Casually, Nick accepted the paw and shook it. "Nick. Nick Wilde."

After introductions were made, both predators sat silently at the table while looking around the diner for anything to drag their attention too, deep in thought. So deep, they completely missed the approaching stag. "Hello. My name's Jerry and I'll be your waiter for tonight." Both respective foxes jumped at the new voice before relaxing. "Uhhh, am I intruding or something? I can come back later-"

"No no no… You're fine. We didn't expect you, that's all." Elisia quickly interrupted, waving her paws wildly at the waiter.

"Right…" The stag said slowly, raising an eyebrow before he broke contact and reached for two menus. "Here you two go. May I start you off with something to drink?" He asked, taking out a small notepad from his pouch.

"Sweet tea please." Nick answered as he picked up the menu and skimmed the selection of images.

"Water's fine for me." Elisia mumbled and also gazed over the menu.

His scribbling pen was the only sound that could be heard besides the clinking of plates and sizzling food. After a tap and a click, he stashed the pen. "I'll be back with those in a minute." With that, he walked off.

Both foxes now sat quietly at the table, holding the menu specifically higher than normal as they reviewed their options. After a few moments of searching, the appeasing order of marinated Tuna Steak caught Nick's attention, and his choice was decided. Though, he still kept the card up high.

After few more agonizing seconds, Nick dared to sneak a peek over the top of the menu. He was met with Elisia's amber eyes as she mimicked his action but she quickly ducked behind the menu once she saw his emerald gems. The tod chuckled and sat the menu down onto the table while turning his gaze to the outside world.

Reluctantly, Elisia finally summed up the courage to also set down her menu. With a shaky sigh, she looked up to Nick. "Ugh, look, I'm sorry for being late. I mean, I _could_ make up a million excuses why… but that isn't right. I-I'm sorry."

Nick closed his eyes and waved a paw. "Nah, you're fine. I already forgave you." He chuckled as his fingers tapped rhythmically on the table. "Sooo… Your profile said you worked in a mechanic shop?" He finally said attentively while slamming his paw flat onto the surface of the table.

It was enough to break the silence. Elisia shook her head and straightened herself out in her seat. "Oh yes! I do… well, I mean I did… Uh, but ever since I moved, uh, I've been trying to apply at some other place now." As she explained, the stag waiter returned silently and placed a pair of drinks on the table. With a nod of his head, the waiter left the two foxes to their conversations.

Nick mouthed a 'thank you' before he returned his attention toward Elisia. "Cool, cool…" He nodded slightly and picked up his tea to sip.

Fiddling with her purse, Elisia brought both paws to her head and groaned. "Ugh, I'm sorry... I'm probably making this whole experience uncomfortable for you." She lightly laughed to herself while eyes bounced from object to fox to object rapidly. "It's just... I'm not _used_ to all this and I can't help myself sometimes. Even so, I probably look like a, uh... mess and that's disrespectful, I'm not. I _really_ don't want to waste your time and all and if we…" She stopped abruptly once her gazed landed back onto Nick. She then slouched in her seat and rubbed her neck. "I'm rabbling again, ain't I?"

Nick smiled and set his drink down. "It's fine, I'm actually used to it." He snickered. "Uh, did you find what you wanted to order? This place has a great selection." He tapped the menu in his paws lightly.

Her eyes widened as she scrambled to pick up her own menu. "Oh! Yes! Uh, thee… B-bourride with Lemon Aioli seems nice." She nodded rapidly.

"Vegetarian I take it?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow as he skimmed the selection for her dish.

"Yeah, never really liked the taste of meat." Elisia shrugged, and breathed out a heavy breath of air. "What about you? What do you plan on getting?" She asked, bringing her elbow to the table and leaned in.

Nick's mouth slightly opened as he darted his eyes back towards the menu. "Uhh… I was planning on getting fish but-"

Nick leaned back and blinked his eyes a few time as his date's arm waved across his vision. "No no no… Don't worry about that. I don't mind watching other mammals eat meat, I just don't like to eat it myself." She explained. Only a few seconds later, her eyes went wide periodically before she closed them and flopped back into her seat. "Oh god... that sounds creepy."

Nick chuckled and shook his head. "You worry too much. Just relax." The fox then rose his paw up high and waved to the distant waiter.

"Are you ready to order?" The stag immediately asked, pen and notepad at the ready.

"Yes… I'd like to have the Marinated Tuna steak with a fruit salad please." Nick closed the menu and returned it back to the waiter.

"And for you ma'am?"

"Oh… uh, thee.. Um… uh… She fumbled for her words as she also returned the menu, avoiding eye contact with the stag.

"Bourride with Lemon Aioli." Nick finished for her as he looked to the vixen with a smile.

"Yeah… That." She sheepishly chuckled while rubbing her neck.

"Alright. I'll have those out for you in a few minutes. Please call me if you need anything." He flipped the cover of the notepad over and stuffed it into his pouch. With the click of the pen, he walked off and left the two customers to themselves.

"Sooo… New around Zootopia huh? Where ya from?" Nick desperately tried to fill the silence.

"Umm… It's a small town down east. Uh, Lendington." She snickered before returning her gaze to the outside.

Nick hummed and took a sip out of his drink while eyeing the other fox carefully. Once he sat his drink down, he weighed his options carefully. He had a hunch, a dangerous hunch. If he got this wrong, it would make him look like a complete asshole. But somehow, it seemed worth the gamble.

Sighing, Nick shook his head and waved a paw in the air. "Look, I hate to be the blunt one here but I can already see this you're really not interested and you're just pretending. I'm just here to make my friend happy." Now, the fox waited anxiously for the reveal, hoping that he was able to call her bluff.

Elisia snapped her head back toward Nick and stared at him with a gaping mouth. "Uh… Yo- Wah…" Her face quickly morphed into that of a suspicious look before it relaxed and she slammed her head on the table. " _Oh thank god."_

 _Bingo…_ Nick chuckled. "Lemme guess… Friend put you up to this?" He leaned in, this time with more interest than before.

"Eeyup." She snickered while raking her fur with her claws.

Nick smiled genuinely and shook his head. "Small world."

Her eyelids became half lidded and she raised an eyebrow. "You too?" Elisia then took out a mirror from her purse and straightened the fur on her muzzle.

Nick exhaled and rubbed his head. "Sadly. She got me to go on three consecutive dates to find me 'the one'." He claimed, emphasizing his words by air quoting.

Elisia nodded her head and closed the mirror, appearance completely clean of any tangles and mats. "Yeah, well… mine convinced me to go on six… This is my fourth." She crossed her arms and leaned back.

"Others didn't go so well I take it?"

"Oh no, they went well. But I eh, _purposefully_ made sure they weren't interested in another date." Both vulpines bursted out into laughter at that. Once they calmed down, Elisia rubbed her eye and sighed. "You're actually the first one to see through the mask."

"Am I now?" As he asked, the waiter came back with a tray of sizzling food, ready to be consumed. Both canines licked their chops as the plate was sat in front of them and they both began to dig in.

* * *

 _(Time Skip - 8:26 PM)_

 _*Knock Knock Knock_

"Just a minute!" Judy called out as she scrambled to her feet while setting the clear bowl of popcorn down on the table in front of her.

Once she got to her door, she wrestled it open but stopped halfway at the new guest "Nick?"

The fox squeezed himself into the room and patted Judy's head. "What'd you expect? The pizza you ordered?" He asked, waving a box of pizza in the air.

"Uhh… Wait, how'd you know I ordered pizza?" She asked with furrowed eyebrows while closing her apartment door.

Nick shrugged and sat the box on her kitchen island. "Met the delivery boy in the lobby." He then began to take out a slice and stuff it in his mouth.

The bunny kept an eye trained on Nick as she also grabbed a slice for herself. "Who paid for it then?" The fox didn't say anything, instead just pointed a claw towards his chest as he happily munched on the pizza. " _Nick!_ I can't let you do that!"

Nick took a napkin and sat his unfinished pizza on the island counter. "Don't see why you're complaining, I never do stuff like that. Accept it as a gift. Now, whatcha doin?"

Judy shook her head and plopped down onto the couch. "I _was_ about to watch a movie."

Nick's ears immediately raised as his expression became hopeful. "Oooo, can I watch?"

Judy smiled and grabbed the remote, along with her bowl of popcorn. "Might as well. But you are _not_ sleeping on my couch tonight. That's why you have your own apartment." She sternly stated, waving a finger the fox's way.

Nick brought both paws into the air and he leaned away. "Alright alright." He chuckled as he brought himself closer to her once more. "Deal. So, what are we watching?"

"Jurassic World."

Nick straightened himself and turned toward the bunny. "Please tell me you've seen this movie before..." His robotic voice was responded with a silent nod. " _Perfect!_ There's _so many_ things in this movie that I _really_ want to make fun of." A deranged laugh escaped him as he rubbed his paws together.

As soon as Judy pressed the play button, both bunny and fox began to bring up and tease every little detail they could find, including the rather long introduction scene before the actual movie began to play.

* * *

 _Sticking his tongue out slightly, a brown paws moved frantically across a paper, hard at work with the crayon. A few more scribbles later, the canine dropped the utensil to the ground and leaned back to admire his work._

 _Nodding his head in approval, he quickly snatched the drawing from the floor and sprinted towards the kitchen. The tile floor caused his feet to slightly slide across the floor, unfortunately causing him to bump into the adult hyena at the sink with an umpf._

 _She in return dropped the cloth she was using and looked down at her side. A smile tugged across her face as she helped her son up to his feet. Not a few seconds later, the cub's energy soon returned. "Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! Lookie!" He giggled, holding the white paper up high._

" _My, my. What do we have here Andrew?" She teased, taking the drawing from the giggling hyena's paws._

" _Can you see what it is? Can you? Can you?" The little one bounced, anxiously tugging on the adult's skirt._

 _She in returned looked down and smiled brightly. She then leaned down onto one knee to allow herself to be the same eye level as the young pup. "Lemme guess. That's you? And that's your brother. There's your dad and... me. But who's this?" Her finger trailed the figures of stick figures, each with a bright smile across their face as they hugged one another. When asking the question, she turned the paper over towards Andrew's direction so he could see her finger._

" _That's uncle Boo!" He answered immediately, hugging himself with his arms._

 _Her expression softened as she turned her face to the side and sighed. Once she snapped out of her expression, her eyes gazed around the kitchen until they rested on the somewhat white refrigerator. "Awww… Well. we can stick this right… Here." She then took a magnet in the shape of an 'O' and pinned the drawing onto its surface._

 _Little Andrew hopped up and down as he looked to the fridge and admired his work, proudly smiling towards his mother. Though, the experience was short lived by the sound of rapid knocking. "I got it!" The pup said before his mother could even say a word and was already running out of the kitchen and into the front door… Literally._

 _Shaking himself off, he reached up and turned the rusty knob, allowing the door to swing open. His bright smile slightly diminished as he turned his head to the side in confusion. "Uncle Boo?" He asked curiously, eyeing the uniformed cape buffalo._

" _Hey Drew." He waved while guiding the teenaged hyena into the house with a scowl. The older canine's slow movements resulted in a light shove from the officer once he closed the door behind him._

" _Who is it?" A voice called out from the kitchen, which gradually got louder until her figure emerged from around a corner. The towel in her paws dropped to the floor as she looked to the new guests questionably. "What are you doing here Idris? And shouldn't he be at school?"_

" _Should…" He grumbled, but sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I'm afraid I'm here on police business Sarah. Your son… Well, I think we better talk privately for that." He stated glumly, all emotion vacant from his voice._

 _The oldest hyena looked back and forth between the buffalo and her older son, whose head looked down towards the floor, not for a second daring to look up. After a few more moments, she let out a shaky sigh before lifting a paw towards the kitchen. "Sure… Eh, boys, wait here... Especially you Thomas." She ordered, a single finger trailed the older hyena as she walked towards the kitchen._

 _Soon, both mammals walked out of sight but their muffled voices still carried throughout the house. During the entire exchange, the youngest pup just stood silently in place, eyes quickly jumping from mammal to mammal. "Sarah… I'm afraid your son might've gotten into the wrong crowd. He's… He's been getting into some trouble recently… Eh, we got a call of vandalizing… a-and I found him-"_

" _Hey, Andrew… Bro. Look at me." A new voice emerged, drowning out the conversation conducted in the kitchen. Two strong paws gripped onto the pup's shoulders and shook him wildly. "Hey… You alright bro?" His question finally snapped the kit out of his daydream and Andrew brought his eyes towards Thomas'._

 _His body began to shake slightly as his eyes began to water. "Awww, c'mere." The older canine said while scooping up the smaller one into a big hug. Andrew's shaky paws wrapped themselves around his brother's neck tightly, small tears fell from his eyes. "What's a matter?"_

" _I'm scared…" The kit mumbled through the fabric._

 _Thomas couldn't help but laugh at his response. He smiled brightly and pulled his brother out of the embrace, while attempting to look him in the eye. "There's nothing to be afraid of." The smaller kit rubbed his eyes and looked down to the ground. Though, his brother had other plans as he lifted the kit's muzzle up so eye contact was met. "Remember what I said before? I'm not gonna let anything happen to you. So don't worry, I'll be here for you… Always."_

A cold stream of salty fluid fell from the darkened figures single red eye while he held onto a black porcelain figure tightly.

"Sir?"

Quickly blinking a few times, he brought a paw up to his face and rubbed the tear away while sniffling to relieve himself of his runny nose. "What?" His voice was hoarse and rough, clear agitation could be heard within the word.

A well dressed rabbit came out into the dim light of the full moon, holding a tanish box in his paws. "I finished the package you wanted. Would you like me to send it off?"

The canine's smile immediately widened, proudly showing his many sharp predatory teeth. " _Perfect…_ Just _perfect…"_ He chuckled, but soon became a fit of laughter. "Tick.. Tock.. Says the clock." A high pitched laugh escaped him and he threw his head back, unfortunately causing him to tumble backwards out of his chair. Though, he soon recovered and rose from the ground while a single finger wiped his eye clean. "Oh Boo Boo, you'll get what's coming for you. Ahhh…. Yes. My life may have ended in the tears of sorrow, but yours shall be gone by the fiery explosion of my burning revenge. Goodbye old friend."

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 **I have NO idea what a date really goes like. What I wrote there is all what I imagine something like that going as. Did I do good for any veterans out there? Hope so. And what is up with me and these darn endings? Ah don't worry. All will be explained… If you haven't figured out my angle already. Flashbacks and creepy psychopath? Must be connected. :3 Also, I hope Elisia made sense in the story. I mean, there's a reason why there's still stereotypes against foxes, why not make her also sly in a way? Good practice for Nick's mother. Did that seem good? Btw, choice of movie: Jurassic World. It's not that bad but there are** _ **so**_ **many things in that movie that make absolutely no sense xD And I know what some of you are thinking… Yup, that was the most perfect customer service you could get in a restaurant. Never had that before lol**

 **ANYWAYS, thank you sooooo much for reading. Thank you especially to PygmyHuman AND oteran98 for pointing out I really don't have much built up on Judy's character because my story is mainly focusing on Nick. That's probably gonna be the only POV of Judy, well at least for a while, but I thought I might give you a sneak peek on what she's thinking. Maybe that will clear up some reasons for the sudden idea of getting Nick dating… I also wanted to bring out that more playful, sassy yet greatness side of her personality. Hope I completed this goal.**

 **TIME FOR THE REVIEWS! And HOLY, 14 reviews (Excluding Nickel's haha ;)). Woah, thank you so much for that. It really means so much to me.**

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 _ **Fan O' Fun -**_ Well, Jack Savage actually came from the previous planning of the movie. Originally, he was gonna be the protagonist of some spy movie around the name of 'Savage Seas, Savage City, Savage Skies…' You get the idea. For people portraying him as a bad guy… Well I dunno, I guess his appearance gives that 'bad guy' look. Never really put much thought into that part lol

 _ **Dark Fox Tailz -**_ Ah, don't worry. I haven't forgotten about that bet. I've just been trying to find a reasonable place to stick the chapter. Of course I plan on doing it before this story ends, I mean, that would be a waste of a funny moment. And ye, that was _one_ of the things Nick planned to do but the original bet revolved around Judy doing whatever Nick said for an entire day. I just don't want to do that with the stuff I've got planned. I'm trying to pick up the pace here and that might just be filler.

 _ **ALookInsideMyHead -**_ I hope so. I mean, sometimes it feels as if I'm constantly repeating the same phrase or description in a sentence and it feels repetitive. I guarantee you've experienced that somewhere in my story before so I'm sorry for that. It's something I've been recently keeping an eye out for. I'm hoping it does feel like suspense and that mystery type feeling to it, it's what I'm aiming for. I did it again this chapter, what'd you think of it? And for the obviously bad bunny at the end of every chapter? Uhhh… My lips are sealed. Also, I don't mind the long reviews, it's really nice to have so much to read. Hehe, I made a long response here too. Hope that doesn't bother you lol

 _ **Anonymous -**_ Oh awesome. I didn't know that. But I have deny that title of 'best writer'. There are WAY better writers out there than me. Take Jacato for example. He recently posted a new chapter 23k words long for his story 'Fallen: The Lost story of Zootopia' and OMG that was worth the entire read. Anyone else reading this, that is a definite recommendation to read. But thank you a lot for the praise. It means a lot.

 _ **PygmyHuman -**_ *Rubs hands together* Ohhhh yesss. A long review. BRING IT ON!

 **Edit:** Okay, when I was typing out your reply, halfway through I noticed its length and decided it would be best if I were to PM you this instead. Because afterall, it is LONG. I don't want it to seem like I'm feeding my word count. Though, I'd like to keep it here so everyone can see what I think on part of the review, but I guess we can't always have what we want, now can we? Lol Thank you SO much anyways for that long review and all the constructive criticism found in it. Don't worry, you didn't offend me :) I'd rather say you helped :D

 _ **Pedo-Sandwich -**_ Awesome! I'm glad you think so. Though, stuff will pick up real soon, be prepared for that. Also, that stuff shall all come next chapter muhaha. Thanks to _ice of darkness_ for some really funny yet embarrassing stories to tell. Anyways, I'm glad you are liking the story and I hope you also enjoyed this chapter as well!

 _ **MrAndersIversen -**_ Ah, don't sweat it, I don't mind if you miss a chapter or two on a review. Afterall, I almost missed your latest chapter xD Thank you for those kind words you gave me. It means a lot to be able to receive and read them. So thank you. I hope you also enjoyed this next chapter as well as the previous ones. I'm trying to get things going here. :) I definitely think everyone will enjoy the next chapter. Anyways, looking forward to your next chapter and I hope you leave a review on this chapter as well!

 _ **Story Writer 2015 -**_ That would be funny to watch. In the future maybe hehe. But others didn't really think me making Judy make Nick go on dates (mouthful right there) I tried to give some hints on why she may have done it. Idk, sorta regretting making that decision right now. Eh, too late now. *sigh* Well, thank you for leaving a review and for giving me those kind words! I hope you also enjoyed this chapter as well.

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ Thanks! I was hoping I did alright with that banter. It's always fun to come up with new ways for them to just poke at each other. Lol As for Mr. Savage, I shall show you soon enough what exactly I have planned with him. Hehe, and oh boy will it be fun. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!

 _ **Gabe5Bricks -**_ Next chapter as arrived just as you requested! I'm really glad I got them down pretty good. As for the dates, haha I guess you got part of your wish :P Well, it went well… just not the outcome as expected :P Thank you so much for those awesome words and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as you did the previous one.

 _ **oteran98 -**_ Haha, long response already responded to via PM. GG Thank you SOOOO much for all those encouraging words! I hope you also enjoyed this chapter as well as you did my previous ones. Btw, in that PM, what I mean on 'next chapter' is the next chapter after this haha. Made a mistake and can't edit it out :P Hope you still enjoyed this chapter.

 _ **KevinStoner -**_ I'm really glad you are liking this story and I hope you feel the same about this chapter. Also, are WildeHopps happening in this story? Why yes, of course they are. I was almost tempted to leave you off with something like 'I guess you'll have to wait and see' But I can't bring myself to say that. You got lucky *Stares with a stone cold eye* Anyways, thank you for your review and I'm looking forward to your opinion on this chapter!

 _ **Kristophier -**_ Awesome! I'm glad you feel that way. And yup, I will continue writing till I run out of ideas, feel a bit empty when writing, or just don't have the time. I hope you liked this chapter as well!

 _ **Zootopia fan of fiction -**_ Yey! Glad you liked it! And I hope the reasoning on Judy doing that is sorta shown in this chapter. If not, then I _really_ need to work on that. Eh, well, I hope you also liked this review and are satisfied with the date. Did I do alright? :D

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 **Wow… All this support is mind blowing! Thank you all SO much for all this. I can't really do much in return but give you the next chapter. Since the next chapter will probably be exciting to write, I'll probably get on that right away. Oh.. stupid summer work. De-benefits of taking Honors classes lol So after I work on those a bit xD PLEASE do leave a review and tell me what you thought of this chapter, as well as your concerns on the speed of said story. Also, follow/favorite if you haven't already and like to see more!**

 **Well, until next chapter: Where it all began… CYA!**

 **Edited by the one and only... NickelAz! Too much thanks to give!**


	16. Where it all Began

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 **Wew, I enjoyed writing this chapter here. For many reasons. I'm very sure that a lot of you have been wanting this moment for a while now. And, there are two things I'm talking about here. Sorry if the last chapter wasn't as good as the rest, I think it was a bit slow and stuff :l But, trust me when I say this is gonna make up for that lousy chapter.**

 **Jeez, I hope you like what I plan to do in the future. WAY too paranoid over here. PLEASE tell me what you thought and your reactions to his chapter once you're done reading. Especially the ending… Enjoy…**

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Nick took a dense, deep breath in a poor attempt to slow his erratic beating heart. The cramped space's atmosphere he occupied only seemed to rise in temperature with each passing second. It became so unbearable, that even the cool wind of the outside world couldn't even satisfy the fox. The urge to pant became the one and only thought in his mind. Though, others still lingered.

Image after image of past deeds came and went in clouds of blurry waves, while the sounds of ominous voices scrambled in his mind. The periodic bump or jitter thankfully cleared his head for fractions at a time before the thoughts surfaced once more. These bumps also unfortunately messed the sunglasses on top of his muzzle, creating an itch not-so-much worth scratching. While he sat, his body moved instinctively as the fox tried desperately to get into a comfortable position. His claws were as restless as his body, tapping inconsistently across the outlying plastic near him.

From the second the sun shined into his apartment to the moment he stepped foot into the rundown car, Nick had been dreading it. There were countless moments where the fox had to stop himself from turning around and making some lame excuse not to do it.

Nick sighed greatly and closed his eyes. When he eventually opened them, he focused his attention towards the passing street signs and buildings that came and went. A single drifting newspaper flying across the street especially caught his attention, momentarily removing some stress. Though, as soon as the wind carried it into a secluded alley, the thoughts returned.

Maybe escape _was_ an option. Afterall, all he would have to do is pull the door open and jump in order to escape the events that were doomed to come. Yes, the car may have been moving at around 40 miles per hour, down a hill, while other cars larger in size shared the exact street with the one he rode in… but that didn't seem to matter. The damage he _might_ sustain seemed like a worthy sacrifice... At least right now it did.

 _No…_ Nick physically shook his head before resting it back onto the door's open window ledge. _That's stupid Nick… What good are you if you're a broken fox?_

 _At least I'll have a REAL reason not to go…_

 _And disappoint her?_ Nick's breath briefly caught itself in his throat before he eventually sunk deeper into the window's ledge and closed his eyes.

 _Why am I talking with myself?_

 _Because if you weren't, you'd be ZNN's next top story. I can hear it already: 'Fox found mysteriously dead in the middle of a street.'_

 _Those vultures can pick at my dead-_

The fox's eyes shot open as the car slowly skid to a halt. Nick's head darted upwards with wide eyes, examining his surroundings closely while his breaths continued to increase to the point where he had to open his mouth to stay conscious. All that could be seen was a pawful of gang tagged buildings, littered sidewalks, and hanging telephone wires. The surroundings _seemed_ familiar, but not exactly what he had been expecting.

Though, his conscious was eased not a few seconds later when the car simply turned right and continued on its journey. A sigh of relief escaped him before the fox rested his head back onto the ledge of the door.

Unfortunately, his sudden reaction caught the attention of the other passenger of the vehicle. The one ear he did have inside the car picked up a certain soothing sound. "Nick?" The fox chose not to respond, instead just continued to stare out of the window. Eventually, the feeling of a soft paw was simulated on his forearm and the fox's muscles tensed immediately in the general area before relaxing.

With tightly shut eyes, Nick lifted his head and turned his attention towards the occupant before reopening them. As soon as light flooded in his retinals, the outline of the concerned bunny instantly became his core thought.

Nick put on the best smile he could muster and spoke smoothly. "What's up Carrots?"

She clearly heard the noise, as her ears flickered slightly upwards before they slowly returned down to their limp position. Even with all the extra effort Nick put into his words to make them _seem_ normal, Judy's expression only worsened. "What's wrong?"

The pestering warmth in his heart returned once more as a small smile became faintly visible underneath the mask. "Ah, what makes you so worried. Nothing's-"

The fox's speech suddenly halted mid-sentence as a gray paw reached up and removed the tinted glasses from his muzzle. "Nick… What's wrong?" She repeated, lavender eyes now completely focused onto Nick's dilated pupils.

Eventually, Nick released the breath he had been holding before his ears slowly fell flat on top of his skull. _Curse you bunnies…_ Turning away from her, Nick rested his head into a paw before finally dropping the smirk. "Just… Thinking…"

"About?"

A light snicker escaped his muzzle. "Stuff…" He muttered barely, focusing his time by counting each individual pole they passed.

It was Judy who decided to snort this time. "You're gonna have to be a bit more descriptive than that Slick." She chuckled before she squeezed Nick's forearm. "C'mon, Nick… You gonna tell me what you're _actually_ thinking of?"

Nick turned Judy's way and looked into her eyes. After a few moments, he snatched the sunglasses from her grasp and smiled at her. "I'm thinking my mom has _way_ too many embarrassing stories to tell. I'm worried about which one's she'll pick." Once he finished, he ruffled Judy's head and mounted the reflective sunglasses before returning his attention to the outside world.

Judy's paw of course instantly swatted his pesky one. "And I'll make sure to especially ask for the baby pictures." A sly smile spread widely across the bunny's face while she spoke.

Nick flipped his head so fast towards Judy that a slight headache began to form. " _You wouldn't…"_ He nearly whispered.

Judy's grin only broadened as she leaned forward. Her volume was alike Nick's, except much more confidence was built between each word she spoke. " _Watch me…"_ She teased before playfully poking the fox's side, eliciting a yelp out of him. Before Nick could even retaliate, she opened the door and jumped out.

A brief panic formed as he watched the bunny run off. Though, the fox relaxed moments later once he realized the car actually stopped. "Ey buddy." A voice called out boredly through the gate separating them, "That's fifteen bucks missing here. You gonna pay or what?" Turning his attention towards the voice, Nick's eyes locked with the aggravated looking armadillo who waved his empty paw in the air.

"Oh, right." Nick chuckled, reaching into his pockets and pulling out his wallet. He then proceeded to give the taxi driver exactly a ten and a five before before hopping out without looking back. As soon as the door shut behind him, the smell, along with the sound of burning rubber unfortunately invaded his senses.

"C'mon slowpoke! I've been waiting for this moment _all_ day and I'm _not_ gonna wait any longer!"

Nick chuckled and began to lightly jog to catch up with the jittering bunny. "Relax Carrots, it's not like we're going-" His voice immediately stopped once his eyes rested on the shaggy building in front of him.

Judy was about halfway into the lawn before she noticed the absence of a certain fox's ambiance. When she looked back, the rabbit immediately noticed Nick standing at the front of the lawn in a completely petrified state. With a sigh and a shake of her head, she slowly walked back towards the sidewalk and squeezed Nick's forearm lightly. "Nick, you good?"

The action was enough though as Nick snapped his gaze downward towards the bunny below him. "Yeah…" He said distantly. The fox then took a deep breath before he shook his head. "Yeah, Yeah… It's just… It feels like forever… and the last time I was here was when my mom-" Nick abruptly stopped while the sound of clanking teeth and a sharp click instead echoed off the nearby walls.

Both of Judy's ears immediately rose and the rabbit stood a little taller. "What's that?"

Nick immediately waved a paw in the air and chuckled. " _Nothing…_ It's nothing… C'mon, let's get going before she starts to worry. She tends to do that." He snickered and mumbled to himself. " _I can feel my phone buzzing already._ " After finishing his train of thought, Nick reached out and grabbed onto one of Judy's arms, forcefully directing her towards the direction of the nearby porch. It wasn't until they set foot onto the wooden surface that Nick released Judy.

Nick proceeded to bring a closed fist up to the door but inches away, his paw froze in place. Judy smiled lightly and slowly brought a paw on top of his. The sudden touch caused Nick to swing his head in the bunny's direction, who just returned the expression with a friendly smile. A few moments later, the fox returned it and with a little pressure, both mammals knocked on the door simultaneously.

 _*Knock Knock Knock_

" _Just a minute!"_ A voice called out through the door. Not long after, Judy's sensitive ears picked up Nick's distressed breathing.

Sighing, the bunny leaned to the side and spoke out of the side of her muzzle, punching Nick's shoulder lightly. " _I thought you were already back in touch with your mom... Why are you so scared?"_

Nick snorted instantly. " _I'm not scared…"_ Though, when he turned to face the rabbit, her disapproving glare quickly changed his mind. " _Alright, alright… Maybe just a little… Look, It's just it's been a while… and eh… This place brings back some... memories."_ He chuckled, rubbing his neck. " _And… I'm bringing you with me this time."_ He perked up, lightly shoving her playfully.

Before the rabbit could react, the shabby red door in front of them bursted open and revealed the figure of a fox. Anxiously, Nick's eyes examined the aged vixen, skimming her white t-shirt and baby blue apron tied around her neck all the way to the strands of gray found in the sea of red fur. Her wide, emerald eyes gazed directly to the other fox in front of her. "Hey ma." Nick's voice croaked as he waved casually.

The elderly canine smiled widely while her eyes lit up. With unbelievable strength, the aged fox grabbed her son instantly and dragged him into a strong embrace.

At first, Nick welcomed the hug. But as time crawled, his mother's hold only seemed to grow stronger and stronger. " _Holy…_ Uhh- Ma… Can't…. _breathehere!_ " With an even tighter squeeze, she finally released her hold but still kept her cramped son within arms reach, bright smile beaming from her face.

Nick chuckled, "Geez, you're almost as bad as Carrots." The fox joked, rotating his sore shoulders which popped with each lap.

Instantly, his mom's eyebrows rose and she returned her paws to her side. "Speaking of her, where is she? Now don't tell me you backed out of our deal…" She scolded, trying to look behind the fox.

Nick placed a paw on top of his heart and snorted. "C'mon, I'm not like _that_. She's over here ma." He chuckled, grabbing the bunny from behind him by both shoulders and directed her in front of him.

"Uh, hi! We didn't have much time to properly get to know each other last time but the name's Judy Hopps." She greeted energetically, thrusting a paw out. Though, Nick's mother had other plans as she instead picked the bunny up and squeezed her tightly.

Nick had to place a balancing paw onto her shoulder to keep her from tumbling as she tried to regain her footing. "Ah, don't worry, I know. Nick here talks about you _all_ the time in our texts." Her son's eyes briefly widened as he brought a paw to his neck, mimicking a slicing movement across. Though, when the bunny turned her head around to face him, he put on the most innocent smile he could muster.

"Vivian Wilde." She introduced, drawing Judy's attention away from the other fox and towards her now outstretched paw. Chuckling, she accepted it and shook. "I'm so sorry I didn't notice you sooner. I mean, usually I'd be able to smell someone out but it's harder with you two since you both are covered in each other's scent." Blood rushed to the bunny's cheeks as she gripped Vivian's paw harder before letting go.

"Oh that doesn't matter." Nick's mom sighed and turned around to walk into the house. Before she moved though, she turned her head around and looked to the two flustered animals. "Well don't just stand there. Come on in!"

Without wasting a second, both stumbled into the clean house. The first thing both friends noticed was the smell. It wasn't a bad smell. Oh no, it was wonderful. It surrounded them in every direction and made saliva drool from their mouths. "Sorry it took awhile to answer the door. I have something cooking in the oven." Vivian called out from around a corner.

" _I can smell…"_ Nick breathed in deeply. A few seconds later, he snapped himself out of the stupor and blinked a few times. He then turned his attention toward his mother as she took the apron out from around her neck. "You know, you say sorry _way_ too much."

She snorted in response. "Nonsense. I worry just the right amount." Vivian snickered and led the two into the living room. Compared to the outside, there was a stark contrast from the run down exterior. The bright evening sun shined into the open windows, making the dots of particles in the air to become visible. Although, not a spec of dust could be seen from the antique shelves.

The smooth, birch like flooring they walked on contrasted the clean light green sofas beautifully, giving the place a peaceful atmosphere, while the glimmer of a nearby wall mirror helped light the room perfectly. The elderly fox's beckoning paw drew the rabbit's attention towards one of the sofas as Vivian herself sat down in a smoothly carved rocking chair.

The bunny immediately fell deep into the soft cushions of the elegant green sofa, slightly leaning to her right as her fox partner sat down next to her. "I'm making shepherd's pie, your childhood favorite…" Vivian finally said, smiling brightly at her now grown up son. "But, you know, without the crickets… It's just mainly vegetables. I just cooked the crickets separate so you didn't have to taste it." She shrugged, directing her attention towards the bunny.

"Thank you…" Judy returned her smile while nodding her head.

"Oh _god_ that sounds awesome right now." Nick drooled, closing his eyes and breathing in the air deeply. But the sound of his mother gasping caused the frox to open his eyes and look to her questioningly.

"Where are my manners? I'm _so_ sorry, lemme go get you two drinks." Vivian chuckled while preparing to get out of her chair. However, the feeling of a course paw on her shoulder stopped her before she could even get up.

"You worry _way too_ much. I'll go get it. You still drink your tea?" Nick chuckled. However, the fox was a bit shocked on how fast he was already by his side.. She only barely nodded her head before the younger fox left towards the direction of the kitchen.

Now, only the elderly fox and bunny rested in the spacious living room, quietly inspecting their surroundings. "Quite a place you got here." Judy eventually called out and made eye contact with the fox.

"Oh yes." She nodded and leaned back into the rocking chair. "It took me a while, but I finally got everything I wanted here. And, uh, do you think I went a little overboard with the green?" She asked nervously, her emerald eyes bouncing towards her sofa and wallpaper.

"Nah, I think it's perfect. Matches your son's and your eyes perfectly." Judy sighed while running her paw across the soft cushions of the seat.

"Sweet tea alright for you Carrots?" Nick's voice called out, catching both occupant's attention.

"Uh, yeah, that's fine." Judy shouted back, turning her face over the sofa she sat on to allow her voice to be heard more smoothly. But as she did this, her eyes finally noticed something familiar in the background, a certain design. "That's a really nice wallpaper actually Mrs. Wilde." The bunny said, slowly bringing her body to her original resting position and turned her eyes toward the fox.

She sighed dreamily and hummed in agreement. "yeah, I think so too. It was actually the wallpaper when I first rented this place out. And uh, it's just miss actually. Oh, and _please_ just call me Vivian. There's no need to treat me like a stranger."

"As long as you call me Judy. You know, your son wears shirts with the almost exact patterns. I'm surprised he chose one of the ZPD shirts today instead of those." Judy informed with a smile.

Vivian eyes grew wide as her rocking chair leaned forward. "Really now?" She chortled, "Well, I guess he never really left home."

"You know, I've always wondered… Why did he leave here anyways… _IF_ that's alright to ask of course." Judy chuckled nervously, messing with her wrists.

"Ah, don't be shy when asking questions." Vivian complained, standing up from her chair and walked to a nearby bookshelf. She sifted through the many books on the shelf before she stopped. Her paw rested on one specific book before the fox took it out slowly. "He hasn't told you yet… Has he?" She asked softly, turning around with a downed head and sat down on the seat next to the bunny. Judy bleakly shook her head in response.

With a sigh, Vivian rubbed the cover of the book she held and spoke, placing the other comforting paw on the bunny's forearm. "Don't worry honey, I have no doubt that he'll tell you when he's ready." She smiled, looking deeply into Judy's amethyst eyes.

The sounds of distant footsteps caused both to break eye contact as Vivian quickly opened the cover to a preplaced bookmark. "And this is the moment when I brought peanut butter home from work. Oh, you should've seen him. He was licking the top of his mouth all day!" She pointed towards the photo clipped inside. The decolored image of Nick's younger form was visible with his tongue sticking out, crossed eyes looking at his nose. Judy couldn't resist the giggle that escaped her.

Nick's footsteps picked up real quick before he was right over them. "Nununununu _no_! Don't show her those ma! _Please!_ " He then threw his unoccupied paw out to grab the book, but his move was anticipated and the book was placed out of reach.

"And over here was when Nick got into my arts and crafts drawer. He spilled the entire bottle all over him. All day he kept on calling himself a pixie." Vivian giggled, pointing at the image of a young fox, sitting on the floor who shined with little specs of sparkling glitter. His smile was bright while he held out both paws widely, mouth open as if he was saying something.

Judy tumbled over laughing and took out her phone. "Ooooo I've gotta take a few pictures of these." She breathed in, positioning it over the book. "Echo will definitely have fun when I show him these." Her comment was the last straw, causing Nick to jump over the couch and wrestle the phone out of the bunny's paws.

Though, of course, the fox was easily pinned by the snickering bunny. Nick's wide eyes and gaping mouth squealed out whines. " _Please noo…"_ He barely whispered, finally having gone limp and put up no resistance to the pin.

Judy chuckled and removed herself from the fox. She then outstretched a helping paw. "Relax _Glitter boy…_ Be good and I'll keep these to myself." The bunny said slyly, waving her phone beside her as she helped the fox off of the ground.

"You two are just _too_ cu- uh, adorable together." A voice called out, causing them to turn their attention in the direction it came from. "Caught myself." She sighed and winked at Nick while walking back towards the bookshelf to set it back.

Judy pulled on her ears and groaned. " _Why does everyone say that?!_ " Nick chuckled and rubbed her shoulders. Once he let go, he went back around and picked up a pitcher and sat it down on the table.

"Relax dumb bunny." The fox lightly laughed as he poured the light brown liquid into the cold glasses and offered them to the other occupants.

Once he sat down, Nick whistled and gazed around. "It's like nothing's changed here. Well, you know, almost nothing. Those sofas, they're new." He said as he sat back down onto the sofa.

"Well, it reminds me of the good times." Vivian sighed, leaning back into her rocking chair with closed eyes. A few seconds later, she reopened them and leaned forward, eyes gazing towards a distant wall. "Hrm… Still needs 15 minutes… Eh, we got the time." She shrugged, hopping up from the wooden surface and stretched.

"Time for what?" Judy asked, also getting up from the soft cushions and setting her drink down. The fox beside her also followed suit.

"I want to show you Nick's old bedroom." The elderly fox simply stated while shrugging and led them both towards the stairs. "You know, he was one of the weirdest kits on the block. Just wait til you see what he did to his room. I only straightened up the place so everything is about the same." She informed while they walked down the hallway to a closed door.

Miscellaneous signs were scattered across the door with writing in different sizes and fonts. ' _Nick's room! No momz alowd!'_ Sighing heavily, the elderly vixen threw her paws towards the door and stepped back, softly smiling at her son.

Slowly, he walked up to the door and reached a paw out to the door handle. With a shaky sigh, he turned the knob and pushed the door open. The single window shined light inside the room, but due to the red curtain, the entire room inherited a reddish tint.

The walls inside were scattered with miscellaneous rock bands and video game posters. In the far corner of the room, a single bed made perfectly sat with a cloud and star shaped blankets. The dresser next to it held books and papers, stacked neatly on its edge while a dim lava lamp sat next to them.

"Well, I'ma go check on the food." Vivian finally said, breaking the silence.

Nick snapped himself out of his thoughts and turned toward his mother. "You're not coming?" He asked while lowering both ears.

"Oh no dear. I get a bit emotional remembering the old days." She chuckled before she shook her head. "Besides… I'm not allowed." The vixen said as she tapped the door a couple of times before walking off.

"So this is what the little Nick Wilde's childhood looked like?" Judy said as she entered the room and skimmed her paw across a nearby shelf stuffed with old action figures. When she lifted her paw up, not a single piece of dust could be seen in her fur.

Nick shrugged and plopped down onto his bed, closing his eyes. "Eh, it's not much but yeah, pretty much." He sighed.

Judy only nodded her head and explored the room a bit more. She walked over towards a nearby stand and picked up a few books on top of it. Of course, they weren't much, mostly kids books and comics. Though, they did look extremely old.

After setting them down, she then explored a nearby chest, which was stuffed with various toys and legos. Judy chuckled in amusement as she picked up the figure of the famous Robin Hood. But a new object below it instead stole her attention, causing her to drop the fox toy and pick up the new object.

Sighing, she turned towards Nick and spoke robotically. "Really?" Slowly, Nick lifted his head up slightly and peaked open an eye to see the bunny waving a pocket knife in the air. Nick snickered and fell back onto the bed.

Throwing the knife back into the chest, Judy dusted her paws and looked around for her next adventure. When she turned around, the closed doors of the nearby closet caught her curiosity and she began her journey over towards its door.

When she opened the door, the bunny's eyes grew and she gasped, stumbling back. Though, as she backed away, she bumped into a figure behind her.

Placing a paw on her shoulder, he stepped aside and took the object of interest out. "I never got rid of it…" He said distantly, fingers trailing the red scarf of the scout uniform. "I always thought I'd just... keep it. I don't know why but… I dunno, just, something to remember that… _day_ forever." Nick said with gloomy eyes before taking a deep breath and putting the hanger back onto its original resting place. When he turned towards the bunny, she experienced one of those ever so rare moments where she got to see a pure and genuine smiles on his face. "But now, I don't have to. All thanks to _you_." He said, emphasizing his last word by tapping her lightly on the chest.

"Kids! Dinner's ready!" Vivian's voice called out, knocking both animals out of their deep stare.

Chuckling nervously, Nick rubbed his neck and called out in the direction of the door. "Ma! I'm not a kid anymore!"

"You're still my little kid whether you like it or not!" She retaliated almost instantly.

Nick rolled his ears and shut the door behind him. With a click, he stepped back and looked towards the frame with a nostalgic glint in his eyes. "Hey Nick?" Judy's voice called out, stealing his attention away from the door.

"Hm?"

Her ears slowly rose and her eyelids dropped while a devious smile spread across her face. "First one to the dinner table get's half of the others desert."

Nick snickered and mimicked the expression. "Oh, you're on- Hey! Wait up!" He scrambled downstairs, struggling to keep up with the bunny who was already in the living room.

Skidding to a stop, Nick rounded the corner towards the dining room and slumped over, desperately gasping for air. "You… cheated!" He pointed accusingly at the bunny who already sat at the round table next to the other fox. Though, her collar bone unfortunately met at the table's level, due to her smaller size.

"Did not, you lost fair and square." She snorted immediately, patting a paw on a nearby chair.

Rolling his eyes, he walked over towards the chair and sat down. "But you never counted down!" He complained playfully.

"Huh, must have slipped my mind." Judy shrugged and took a roll from the nearby basket.

Nick furrowed his eyes and snickered. "Sly bunny."

"Dumb- Hey!" She instantly stopped as soon as Nick plopped a scoop of mashed potatoes onto her nose. She looked cross eyed down at her twitching nose and tried to remove the contents off, but her tongue fell short.

Nick banged on the table laughing, gasping for air. Though, he wasn't expecting the sudden spoonful of mashed potatoes in his own face.

Thoughtout the whole exchange, the elderly fox watched the two battle it out with longing eyes. She didn't care that half of the food was being wasted, or that she'd have a large mess to clean up afterwards. No, the whole time, a single thought ran through her head while the vixen sighed dreamily.

 _At least I don't have to wait long for grandkits… After all, adoption is always an option..._

* * *

"Thank you again for the food Vivian! It was wonderful. I'll have to get that recipe some time." Judy managed to say through the hug.

"Heh, and sorry for wasting half of it." Nick chuckled as he rubbed his neck. But Judy's paw pulled onto his unoccupied paw and embraced him in the hug.

A few seconds later, they all let go of each other and stepped back. "Oh, it's no biggy. I'm glad you guys decided to come over. Shame you have to leave though." Vivian said sadly, looking down.

Judy matched the expression and dropped her ears behind her head. "Yeah, we got work in the morning but we'll come over again some other time!" She immediately perked up and bounced up and down.

"I'd like that." The elderly fox said softly and waved at them as they left the porch. "Oh, and Nick!" She called out just before he stepped onto the sidewalk. "Don't wait too long to find a lover, I won't last forever."

Before the flustered fox could even reply, Judy shouted back and waved her phone in the air. "I'm already taking care of that! He's got another date…" She stopped and tapped away at her phone. "Tomorrow at 7:30 PM with a…" Judy began to say before the words stopped coming out of her mouth. Her ears heated up as she read the species outloud. "... rabbit… Heh, well, anyways, good night Miss Wilde!" Judy waved frantically back and hopped down the street.

Vivian looked to her son with a disbelieving eyebrow and crossed her arms. In return, her son only shrugged and followed behind the rabbit.

"She seems _so_ nice! Too bad I forgot to get those baby pics though." She eventually said as soon as the fox walked up beside her.

"Good." Nick coughed into his paw and adjusted his voice. However, the fox got jolted slightly to his side when Judy's paw collided with his shoulder. After a few seconds of intense staring, they both bursted out into a light fit of laughters. "Well, all there is now is to meet your family." He chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye.

Judy sighed and stopped in her tracks with a deep breath. "Maybe some other time Slick." She sighed and looked up to the fox standing beside her.

Out stretching a fist, she spoke with a bright smile. "See ya tomorrow partner?"

Nick stood a bit straighter as he returned the smile and collided fists. "Always."

Without another word, both mammals turned around and walked different paths in the night away from the light pole they originally stood at. Even though they were alone, the beams on their faces never left.

* * *

With the flick of his paw, the arctic wolf dropped the pen down onto his desk and threw his paws in the air. "FINALLY!" He exclaimed.

"You're not done yet." His sister called out. Groaning, the wolf slammed his head onto the desk in front of him. "Can you give this to the chief while I go clock us out?" Luna called out and dropped a hefty pile onto his desk.

"Why can't you do it?" Echo whined, attempting his best puppy eyes. But Luna simply rolled her eyes and left the office without another word.

Shaking his head, the wolf stood up and stretched out. Satisfied with the silent _pop,_ he mumbled to himself and picked up the surprisingly heavy stack of files.

He then trudged through the halls of the ZPD and nodded his head to many other officers who were unlucky enough to run the night shift. Soon enough, he entered the open doors the nearest elevator. Thankfully, the ride seemed short, and in no time at all, he was already at the door labeled _'Chief Bogo'._

Without knocking, Echo pushed the door open with his shoulder and entered the room. "Chief." He greeted with a nod.

"Carson." The buffalo returned the nod before taking of the glasses from the bridge of his muzzle. "What are you doing here?"

"Well…" He heaved, throwing the many files on top of the desk. Dusting his paws, the wolf stretched and yawned before he spoke. "I believe that is the stack of cases you requested."

The chief sighed and rubbed his forehead. "I thought I asked your sister for those…"

"Well, that makes two of us." Echo chuckled and leaned onto the nearby wall.

"Anyways, good work officer." The cape buffalo sighed, and equipped the reading glasses once more, concentrating onto the work in front of him.

Taking himself off the wall, the wolf calmly walked of the desk and picked up the nearest folder. "What do you want with these ancient things anyways? Seriously." He chuckled and swapped folder after folder. "Petty theft, vandalism, armed robbery, Ooo, this guy also started a fire-" He stopped once the folder was harshly snatched from his paws.

"That's none of your business officer… I'm just doing a bit of research." The chief grumbled, neatly setting the stack farther away from the other officer.

"Alright, alright… Geez." He chuckled, "I thought it was closing hours. Why you still here chief?" In response, the buffalo simply took of the glasses and leaned back into the chair, staring up at the ceiling.

"I was just finishing things up actually." The chief sighed and sat the pen down. Getting up out of his chair, he strapped the jacket around his shoulders and leaned down underneath the desk. When he stood up once more, he sat a tannish looking paper box on top of the files.

When his back was turned, Echo snatched the box from the table and shook it. "What ya got here Chief?" Echo questioned.

"Not sure. Clawhauser just said someone dropped it off at the front desk and left. Probably a thank you present, I get them all the time." He shrugged, picked the files up, and headed out the door.

"Well how thoughtful of them. Wonder what they got ya." He questioned, placing the box to his ear. As soon as he did that, the first thing he noticed was the smell. It wasn't a normal smell, but something you'd smell at the end of the 4th of July. Though, the second thing he noticed made his blood turn cold. The sound…

…

 _*Tick_

 _..._

 _*Tock Tick_

…

 _*Tock Tick Tock_

 _*Tick Tock Tick Tock_

…

…

 _..._

 _*BEEPPP_

"Look out chief!" Echo shouted. Time seemed to slow as the wolf thrusted the box back into the room before he pushed the buffalo behind him out of the room. Unfortunately, before the wolf could join the his superior on the other side of the wall, the room was engulfed in a burst of hot air and the world around him faded into nothing.

 _*BOOM_

* * *

 **Muhahahaha! Oh please tell me your reactions, I'm dying to know here. Anyways, thank you for reading this new chapter. I sincerely hope this one was better than the last one. As you can see, stuff will be picking up real quick now.**

 **If you haven't already, please do follow/favorite. Every. Single. Bit counts to me. Thank you ALL who have already. I can't express how much it means to me no matter how much I try. So thank you. Also, thank you to these awesome individuals for giving my latest chapter fantastic reviews!**

* * *

 _ **Lockdown00 -**_ Patience my friend… Patience… The time will come when the moment is right. For now, lets let these two love struck fools simmer for a while. Thank you for reading this latest chapter too!

 _ **Pedo-Sandwich -**_ Next date? Bunny! And what was that with Judy's reaction? Oh, that ending, what's up with that?! I love being able to juggle so much information into one chapter. Thanks! I hope you like this chapter!

 _ **Story Writer 2016 -**_ Much love found in this review. I'm glad I'm doing something right here. And of course I need to give a hint on why the villain might hate Bogo, I can't just leave you in the blue. ;) But… There's more to the story than what I've told you. I'm glad you are having fun reading this story, hope you liked this new chapter as well.

 _ **Gabe5Bricks -**_ Glad you like the long chapters. Not sure when the next long one will be, but if I do, I'll make sure it's good. Hope you liked this chapter as well with the visit to Nick's mom. Did you like her personality? Tried to make that sly, loving personality you find in some moms. And what Nick does with all the dates, I guess we'll have to see… But that cliffhanger…

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ You know… I'ma be completely honest. I was planning on making Judy ask how it went, and make Nick responded with something like 'It went well, just not the 'one'' but I uh, forgot… I'll have to edit that in so it fits and I don't have to worry about that. Sorry xD What did you think of that cliffhanger? MUHAHA Did I do alright?

 _ **KevinStoner -**_ You are very welcome! If you have any more questions you'd like to ask. Don't be shy and go ahead and ask! I'll answer them to the best of my knowledge. Also, I hope you liked this chapter as well! Tell me what you think! :D

 _ **MrAndersIversen -**_ Awesome! I sorta fear that the last chapter could've been better. Maybe humor, or bit more of Judy. Dunno, just something being better. Well, what did you think of this chapter? I'm dying to know! Also, I'm looking forward to the next post of your story! Update ASAP! :P

 _ **Anonymous -**_ Oh no, don't worry. I don't mind the reviews. You aren't abusing the system xD And wow, yeah, I've almost reached 100k words total. That's… a lot. I hope you enjoyed this story!

 _ **Domfactor2 -**_ Thank you so much for those encouraging words. It means a lot to read those words from reviewers like you. And I haven't forgotten about the bet and Nick's mother (hehe she's here!). I haven't really found a right moment to really put that in. There are many moments where I _could_ but it just didn't seem right. :l I'm sorry to hear about that password confusion. Hope everything turns out alright but I'm glad you still took the time to give my story a review. Really, thank you.

 _ **ALookInsideMyHead -**_ Thanks! I like to add those little vague statements to just get the reader's thinking. I'm glad that worked out. And wow, thanks for those very encouraging words. I always looked to other authors to learn new techniques from them, but it's amazing that I can be the teacher for once. Wow, thank you. I've said that three times but I meant it. Well, I hope you liked this chapter as well! Looking forward to what you think of it, especially what I did there at the end. :3

* * *

 **Woah, Thank you awesome 10 for those amazing reviews. I hope to hear from you all again in this chapter. Also, BIK TANKS to Mr.** _ **ice of darkness**_ **for feeding me ideas and helping me build this story. Seriously, half of the stuff in this story was created by him. If you guys need help with ideas, there's the person to go to!**

 **Anyways, that's all I have to say for now! Until next time!**

 **EDITED BYYYYYYYYYYY…**

…

 **NICKELAZ!**


	17. Putting the Pieces Together

.

 **Hey everyone! Before I begin, I'd like to apologize for that spontaneous cliffhanger. Like before, I've been planning that since the beginning of Chapter 12, and I have plenty more planned to keep you on the edge of your seats.**

 **Also, soon (not yet), my story will reach 100 favorites! Wohoo! As a celebration, and if you are interested,** **I plan on posting a bonus chapter.** **This chapter will contain the events of what happened when the bomb went off from Bogo's perspective.** **If you are interested, PLEASE let me know in a review or PM** **, I want to know! If you don't, I won't blame you, that's your opinion and I will humbly accept it in my decision if I post that chapter or not. I already have a plan laid out if I do though. Like I said, it will be completely up to you.**

 **Well, I told you I'd pick up the pace here, and I keep my promises. I do not plan on ending it soon though, and it'll be interesting for me to try to keep that romance part in the story. I don't want it to seem like some romance story that dramatically switches to action and forgets about its other genre. :l**

 **Well, just leave that part of the planning to my trusty helper, my humble editor, and me. :) I hope you enjoy this chapter. Hope it wasn't that boring :S**

* * *

"Oh yes you are!" Nick chuckled and took a rather large gulp of his steamy elixir of goodness, then he looked up to the sky with a sigh. Mornings may not be his thing, —that spot was reserved for sleep, which he would much rather be practicing right about now— but with the benefit of having the delicious, hot cup in his paw, all seemed bearable. Well, that and the company of a special bunny by his side may also have played some part in that role… but the coffee was easier to blame.

"Nu-uh." Judy shook her head and crossed her arms. "There's no way you can make me." She claimed in defiance.

The fox's eyebrows instinctively rose as his chest puffed out slightly. "Ah, but I distinctly remember shaking on that bet. And as it turns out, I won; you lost. Face it rabbit, you're cornered." Nick snickered while peeking at her out of the corner of his shaded eyes.

She huffed with heavy feet before turning her attention toward the fox. "But I thought that bet ended months ago. You can't just use that as an excuse to make me try something!"

"Well my furry friend, that's where you're wrong." He confidently said with a broad smile. "You see, I don't recall us setting a specific time _when_ I would use the bet, and particularly remember holding off till the time seemed right."

The bunny scowled at him before groaning and looking away. "There's no way out of it now. You refused to try any crickets last night at Ma's house, but you shall today; I'll make sure of that." He grinned, allowing his sharp, predatory teeth to be seen by all. " _Mmmm…_ I can taste it already… One larrrgggeee bug burger, eaten whole."

Maybe he was taking it a bit too far, and it was probably best for his own good if he'd stop before the fox has to deal with a grouchy bunny all day. But gosh darnit, any time she was flustered, confused, or irritated, he thought was the _cutest_ thing in the world; but her sneezes could never be topped… ever.

It was a good thing his companion could never hear his thoughts, —though he swears sometimes she can— otherwise he might've been hospitalized from police brutality from how much he abuses the lone c-word.

"Ugh! Why did I make that silly bet anyways?!" She tugged on her ears harshly. " _Stupid!_ "

"How would I know? Maybe you were too high on carrots? OW!" He rubbed his sore shoulder. Of course, it didn't hurt that much, he was just being over dramatic. Her favorite punching spot has actually became more numb over time. Maybe he should get it checked up… _Meh, not worth it._

"That's what you get for making carrot jokes. Did you know too much carrots are bad for bunnies?" She asked nonchalantly.

Nick raised an eyebrow and eyed her curiously. "Really now? Well now, _that's_ something." He chuckled and sipped his now almost empty container. As he passed a nearby trashcan, he threw the styrofoam inside, perfectly scoring without touching it's metal rim once. As the fox gazed confidently towards the uniformed bunny, hoping to brag, the almost speeding van with an antenna resting on top instead stole his attention.

"Hey Carrots… has something on the news happened I haven't heard about?" He asked while watching two more vans of different channels head forward down the street.

"What? You're always on that phone of yours, how could you _not_ be up to date with today's current events?!" Judy teased, hip bumping the fox and continued down the street, except this time with a witty smile plastered on her face. "And for your information, I rarely watch the news. I just find out by talking with Clawhauser."

"Well I haven't been on my phone since yesterday thank you very much. And I bet most of that information is somehow related to Gazelle." He snickered while taking his phone out of his pocket.

"Well, yeah, mostly. If it affects Zootopia in any way, she's always there to give her opinion." She answered easily. "I've never seen someone as proud of her city as she is before; even more than you Slick." She chuckled and looked to her side, though, she was instead met with a brick wall.

"Nick?" She asked while circling her surroundings before finally rested onto the frozen fox in the middle of the sidewalk, eyes glued to his phone. A group of passing zebras grouchily passed separated and regrouped around the furry obstacle. As soon as they passed out of sight, Nick finally looked up. Even with the shades upon his eyes, Judy could clearly see ever word they said, and her blood turned cold.

Without warning, he sprinted straight past the bunny, rejuvenated with newfound energy and never looked back. The bunny didn't question; whatever he saw, she'd find out soon. Instead, she chose to follow closely behind her partner and kept a watchful eye out for any new information she might find.

It wasn't long before the duo turned a corner and entered the well known city square, where many mammals usually enjoyed a calm morning stroll while others went along with their business. But instead of the harmonious site she came to love, Judy's amethyst eyes were instead greeted with a dense crowd of animals, grouped together in the green grass of the court yard with their backs turned. Unfortunately, that's not what caught her attention. No… but she wished it did…

Instinctively, adrenaline rushed through her veins as she gazed with wide eyes at clouds of black smoke slowly rising in the sky near her once beloved building. The surrounding crowd shrouded with flashing red and blue lights harshly whispered together in shock. Ambient children's cries cut the tension in the air present like a hot knife in butter.

With mouth gaping open, she slowly turned her attention in the direction of Nick beside her where their eyes met. With minds racing, they both silently communicated and understood each other's own thoughts. "Hey Carrots… I might need to withdraw that bet…"

Without warning, Judy sprinted off into the direction of the crowded courtyard. Regrettably, most of the animals standing in the back were all of the larger scale; elephants, giraffes, hippos, but that didn't and never would scare the bunny.

"ZPD! Coming through! Make way!" She shouted while squeezing her tiny form between many pairs of legs and bodies until she eventually stopped face first into a yellow caution tape. Though, the tape lifted by itself, allowing her vision to gaze freely towards the destruction of the once safe haven.

Firefighters rushed in and out of the building, hoses and hatchets strapped on their shoulders as they attempted to contain the blazing fire of the second floor. Nearby EMT workers escorted coughing uniformed officers away from the destruction and towards their humble vehicles full of equipment to rest.

Judy took a deep breath to calm her erratic mind and looked to her partner who simply held the yellow tape up high for her to pass. He didn't face her, instead his covered eyes focused deeply onto the destruction before him.

"For our latest news, we're here live at City Square where at 8:43 PM last night, an explosion detonated inside Precinct 1 and unfortunately set fire to the second floor of the building. We are still unsure what is the cause of this mysterious fire." A feminine voice sounded distinctly through the crowd and stole both bunny's and fox's attention away from the scene. Around the crowd to the far right, sets of cameras and stands were displayed facing the direction of the searing building. Mammals with microphones and headsets occupied the devices while only one, a female snow leopard, stood in front of a camera.

With a gesturing paw, she continued her speak. "Our brave city officials are still trying to contain the fire and are safely escorting any officers still stuck inside the burning building. In a few moments, Officer Captain Higgins will give us a statement on the damage and injuries that may have happened. Please stay with us until then."

"Annnnddddd… we're off. 90 seconds." Said the gopher, setting the camera angle downward and jumped off his stand.

"Higgins…" Judy mouthed while scanning the officers present. With a little difficulty, she finally spotted the chubby hippo near one of the many ambulances present on the scene. He stood over a plump cheetah with a comforting paw resting on his shoulder. In an instant, the bunny hastily made her way under the tape and over in their direction.

"What happened?!" Judy exclaimed breathlessly as soon as she was within hearing range of both hippo and cheetah. Judy didn't take her eyes off of the two mammals, even when the sounds of heavy breathing soon emerged to her side.

"Why... is the precinct on fire?!" Nick gulped. Startled by their sudden entrance, both officers said nothing and instead perplexedly stared back. Their silent atmosphere was broken by the whimpering, hushed whispers emanating from the shaking cheetah.

Rubbing his shoulder, the hippo stepped off to the side and signaled for the duo to follow him around the ambulance. Once they were safely away, Judy decided to speak. "What's wrong with Ben?"

Sighing, Higgins spoke with a groggy voice. "He's… a bit shaken up about all the events. Where were you two? We had an emergency call go out to all officers."

Nick chuckled and rubbed his neck. "Uhhh… Carrots left her phone at home while we went to go visit someone. My phone… was shut off till this morning."

Higgins groaned as he turned his attention towards the bunny. "Well, you shouldn't have been out that long. We made the call around 10, shouldn't you have heard it then?"

"Umm… I-I forgot to set it on the charger last night… And, it… died." Judy chuckled nervously, rubbing her elbow and avoided eye contact.

" _How convenient…"_ The hippo grumbled and sighed. After looking around cautiously for a few seconds, he relaxed and shrugged. "Well, might as well get you informed. At around 9 PM, a… bomb exploded in Bogo's office."

Judy's face morphed into that of complete shock, with color leaving the pinkish flesh visible while the limber ears she had immediately fell flat at the news. "W-was anybody hurt?!"

Higgins eyebrows scrunched up and he eyed both officers in front of him with pity. Sighing, he spoke in a soft tone. "Like I said, the bomb detonated in Bogo's office. It had enough force to knock out the floor there and the second floor balcony. Those in that area were the only ones harmed seriously. Others just suffered from inhaling smoke and dust while others some minor burns."

Even with the slight —if at all— good news, the bunny was far from satisfied. "Who was near the bomb during the time? Was the chief there?" She asked frantically, almost on her paws and knees begging for more information.

"I was hoping you wouldn't ask that… _Course you would…"_ He chuckled before returning to his gloomy state. "Luckily, there were only three mammals present during the bomb whose injuries could be classified as serious. One, Chief Bogo, but he only suffered from slight burns, cuts and bruises thankfully. The other is Officer Zimmers from forensics when the floor collapsed. She only suffered from a broken arm and dislocated shoulder from falling debris... And… Uh, t-three." He sighed and looked to the ZPD building. Thankfully, the smoke piling in the sky seemed to diminish ever so slightly, but lots of it's fumes still polluted the sky.

"Officer E. Carson was the most unfortunate out of the group. H-he was very close to the bomb when it exploded." Higgins breathed in and rubbed his head. "He suffers from burns, broken bones, sprains, cuts… You name it! He probably has it… He _did_ successfully made it out of his surgery… but he hasn't woken up yet, and I think he should've." Shaking his head, he turned his body around and opened his closed eyes. "Look, I know you two were close to Ec-... Where'd they go?" He asked himself, looking around to his now seemingly empty surroundings.

* * *

With deplinished stamina, no breath to spare, and a mind starving of hope, both fox and bunny bursted out of the fire exit stairwell. The doors barely even latched back onto their hinges before both mammals ran side by side down the hallway, gazing at the many doors on the floor they occupied.

"One… Three… Four… fiv- Six! That's it!" Judy claimed pointing at a door on the far side of the corridor. Even in their weary state, they somehow found the energy to move even faster and reached the pristine white door in no time.

Yet, even with their burning determination to arrive here, both animals skidded to a stop inches away from the door. During their moments of hesitation, their lungs refilled themselves with lost air while their hearts slowed down to a more reasonable level. Their minds prepared themselves for the worst, and the weeping cries emanating from inside didn't help.

Eventually, Nick took a huge gulp of the sterile air and knocked lightly three times on its wooden frame. With a shaky exhale, he tugged on its handle and pulled the door open.

Though the bright lights from the blinding sun restricted their vision, the sight before them would be forever stained in their minds.

Hunched over, the silhouette of a pure white furred mammal dressed in dark blues rested with their head over the one bed present. Opposite of it, another figure could be seen through the light, who wore a light gray shirt over their white fur, holding a crippled paw but neither face could be seen. Their contours only interested the duo for a second before both pairs of eyes rested on the bed.

Judy's breath became shallow as she stared at the somewhat mummified face laying silently in the bed. She examined his crippled body through her watery eyes. The lump in her throat only got tighter and tighter with each detail she began to notice. Most of his face was obscured by the crude breathing tubes stuck deep inside his dry mouth, along with the many long black cords laid out over his body like a puppet and it's string.

The patches of fur she did see were tainted with specks of black and grey flakes, no longer matching his signature snow like appearance. His pelt was stained with streams of unforgiving red color, while the other regions were shaved clean of hair, showcasing his rippled and crusted skin below. Though thankfully, most of it was obscured by clean straps of gauze.

As if on queue, her feet moved beneath her without command and strolled over to the bed. Throughout the entire time, her lavender eyes never once left the bed; never away from Echo.

Eventually the bunny made it over to the side of the bed and gazed to the two arctic wolves weeping over his unconscious body. Judy's gray gradually rose high towards Luna's shoulder and fell.

In response, the canine rose due to her sudden change in breathing but immediately deflated afterwards. Distorted, incoherent mumbles slipped from her groggy mouth. " _T-t-this c-can't be_ … _be ha-happenin-g… N-not again… N-n-not lik-like fath-ther…"_ Judy's heart dropped to hear such a close friend sound so broken and defeated. Without much thought, her small paw squeezed the other officer's shoulder in comfort, but it instead only further deepened her turmoil and despair.

Judy felt like a ghost, helplessly drifting inside the room and stalked her friends as they suffered in their own study, hoping, no, praying Echo was alright, that he was safe, and that he'd return back to where he belonged; with them. With a bit of difficulty, the bunny let out a shaky sigh and slowly turned her attention back to the fragile wolf.

Judy walked to the front of the bed, where she took the clipboard resting in a pouch. Hesitantly, she skimmed his diagnostic.

' _Patient suffers from first and second degree burns throughout the body. While he was unconscious, he inhaled particles of dust and smoke, breathing tool required. Due to the cumstances of his burns and broken bones, medically induced coma was recommended to dim the possible pain. Patient is stable for now.'_

Her eyes once finished reading, they then wondered lower to a list. Judy briefly closed her eyes before opening them, quickly skimming the pages.

…

 _Dislocated shoulder_

 _Grade 3 Concussion_

 _3rd Degree Burns_

 _Various splinters_

 _Broken right forearm_

 _Sprained left ankle_

 _Fractured Tail_

 _Collapsed lung_

…

Judy immediately tore her eyes from the page and she calmly sat the chart back into its original place, sighing heavily.

Her dreary eyes eventually fell upon the still stationary wolf who hadn't moved an inch from his state of rest. _Who could've done this?_ She found herself asking. _What's the point to it?_

Her questions of course went unanswered as the room stayed in it's original quiet state, only filled with the sounds of whimpering and hiccups. Nick's black paw soon invaded Judy's sight as it wrapped itself around Luna's neck. Immediately after, she turned around and squished the smaller predator in a firm hug, but he never complained.

Judy sighed and looked back to Echo. _This could've been me. It could've been any of us…_ She thought darkly, but her next thought brought tears to her eyes. _T-this could've been Nick…_

Nick's coarse paw brought it's way onto the bunny's arm, slightly startling her, and quickly pulled her into the group hug. Together, they all bundled up together, warmed by each other's generous body heat, and silently wept.

After an eternity, they each let go and rubbed their runny noses. "Hey Luna…" Judy spoke softly, "It's gonna be okay. We'll be here for you…"

The arctic wolf hiccuped and slurred, attempting her best to pronounce her words. "N-no ittss no-not. Echo… he-he-hee's-"

Nick easily cut her off and gripped her into a strong hug. "Gonna heal up and be with you in no time. Trust me. Remember at the academy? Nothing would stop him. I don't expect a few broken bones and scorched fur will either." The fox promised, looking directly into her watery eyes. "And I promise you. We _will_ find who did this, one way or another." Right as he finished, the door of the room creaked open and the certain buffalo's head peeked in.

Nick and Judy immediately looked to him in the eye and spoke simultaneously, in more of a command like dialogue then a statement. "Chief, we need to talk."

"And w-what t-then?! Finding hi-him doesn't s-save my brother!" Luna yelled right before the duo was able to exit with the buffalo in tow.

With a deep breath of air, Nick turned around and faced Luna. When he did, for the first time in awhile, she saw a smile; genuine and pure of any destruction and pain that surrounded them. His voice was like a ripple in the water, calming the surrounding bodies with one simple tap. "No it won't, but we can heal."

Without another word, Nick went out the door and left the canine to her thoughts. He left so soon, he never saw her sigh; he never saw her return to Echo's side and take ahold of his paw; and most importantly, he never saw her smile.

"What is it you two want?" The chief spoke in his usual gruff demeanor. Besides the bags under his eyes, and the thick set of wrapped fabric covering his forearm, the straps of cloth across the bridge of his muzzle was the first thing the fox noticed, covering the scrapes and scars. To the best of his ability, Nick hid the cringe when staring at the patches of shaven fur visible on his neck and arm, opening showing his darkened skin underneath. Though thankfully, most was obscured by the pure gray shirt he wore.

"Sir, we want to be put on the case." Judy spoke, eyes glistening with a longing fire of determination.

Bogo didn't reply right away. Instead, he stood in his place and stared at the two with no emotion playing across his face. Rotating on their heels, both became antsy and began to speak further. Before the bunny could release a word, the buffalo grunted. "No."

"But sir-"

" _No!"_ He snapped, instantly silencing the duo. " _Not this time!_ This case is way above your paygrade. I already have a skilled detective coming in to investigate." Bogo sighed and rubbed his pounding forehead. "I couldn't put you on the case even if I wanted to... You're both too emotionally attached!"

"We are very capable of-"

" _Enough_. I'm well aware of your capabilities! I've given you too much leeway in the past but this… I cannot do. Go home, there's not much you both can do now." Bogo ordered, opening the hospital door and stepped into the room. With a huff of hot air, he closed the door behind him and left the dumbfounded mammals to their staring.

"Y-you k-know that won't s-stop them." Luna feebly chuckled.

Bogo sighed and sat down in the chair next to Mrs. Carson, placing a single hoof on her grieving shoulders. "I know." He turned his eyes to the door with the faintest of a smile present. "That's what makes them good officers."

* * *

Nick slammed the brown door behind him, rattling the walls and picture frames near before following behind the bunny through the short hall. After a few steps, Judy abruptly turned to her left and stormed into a room, taking a wooden table from her nearby walls and tugged harshly it to the middle of the room. It screeched, cried, then laid silent.

With a swipe of her swift, gray paw, Judy scattered papers and utensils onto the floor below before crossing her arms. The table rattled when Nick smashed the stack of freshly printed photos and spread them evenly onto the table.

Each photo appeared different, but each featured the same thing; fire, chaos, and destruction. Without a word, Nick looked up and made eye contact with the bunny, who also wore the exact determined face as him. In return, Judy nodded and took out her phone, dialed a number and sat it in the middle of the table.

" _Hello?"_ A soft voice called out from the other end of line as soon as the ringing ended.

"Talk to us Bella." Judy spoke robotically, eyes not leaving the device.

" _I dunno if we should be doing this guys…"_

" _Yeah… Disobeying the Chief's orders directly isn't such a smart idea. But then again, we are probably already in trouble for those photos we sent you a while ago._ " Maxwell grunted.

"I'm just glad the fire was put out already." Nick smiled briefly. "Look, I know you were told to keep this under wraps and we are extremely grateful for what you have done already but we need to do this. We won't let you get the blame." He said, removing his eyes from the phone and gazed to the bunny across from him.

"We'll claim full responsibility, even if it costs us our… badges." Judy sighed, taking the pinned badge from her chest and sat it lightly onto the table before her.

" _We don't want to be-"_ Bella tried to speak, but was easily cut off by her coworkers.

Nick waved a paw in the air before it rested onto his muzzle, where he rubbed tenderly. "We know the risks of what we're doing and we've accepted that already. But please… This has to be done."

" _-Bu… Uh… Em…"_ Bella stuttered.

A long and heavy sigh covered her broken speech and Max's monotone voice took over. " _Fine, you two are so stubborn. What do you need?"_

"We need all the information you can give us about the bomb. How much damage did it do, how was the bomb delivered, et cetera."

" _Well, the investigators are just now checking out the scene since the firefighters just gave them the clear. We'll have to wait on finding information regarding the bomb. Luckily though, we aren't completely helpless, as it turns out, we can still access the security cameras from city hall. I'll send you this morning's lobby recording… "_ She said in her soft voice. Soon after, clicking overcame the sound of her hushed voice, but only briefly. "… _annnnddd there."_

Though it was silent at first, a sudden ping from Nick's phone further reassured her word. Without any time to waste, the fox quickly took out his phone and walked over to the edge of the door, eyes intently watching the scene play across the screen at three times the normal speed.

"Alright. What do we know about the bomb already?" Judy asked, removing her eyes from the fox and towards the photos.

" _Well, uh… it's obvious it was created to cause major damage to the precinct, as it set it ablaze."_ Max responded glumly.

The bunny hummed and nodded her head in agreement. "So it was an incendiary, probably gasoline based I think… at least it smelt like it." Judy wrinkled up her nose in disgust and shook her head.

" _Hrm, probably, but the reports already in say the bomb also leveled Bogo's office and took out the upper balcony with it."_

"A high explosive and an incendiary?" The bunny spoke softly, wide eyes perfectly conveying her current state of emotion.

"Guys, I believe I've found our bomber. Gray male rabbit." Nick spoke over the silence, returning his self back to the table at Judy's side with the phone in paw. "Thankfully I didn't have to wait long. He enters the precinct at 9:21 AM." The fox then turned the phone over to the frozen image of a male gray rabbit casually walking up to the delighted cheetah, tannish paper box wrapped safely under his arm.

Judy slowly reached over and took the screen from the fox, leaning into it in order to get a better view. "Where have I seen him before?" The snickering fox broke her from the screen and she looked at him with a stern face. "Now's not the time for those jokes Nick." He nodded his head in return and beat his chest, doing his best to cure himself of his wheezing and coughing.

" _I got this… I'll go see if I can get this guys' face in records while you guys continue to discuss. Gimme a minute."_ Once he finished his sentence, the rhino's heavy footsteps could be heard as he walked off to some distant area.

"We know what the bomb was intended for, but for who now?" Judy said, sifting through the photos on the desk and pulled out one showing the burning building. "Were they targeting the precinct?"

Nick took the photo from her paws and shook his head. "I don't think so. They had that much power to destroy concrete, they could've done more damage with the support beams."

Gasping loudly, Bella's voice joined in onto the current conversation. " _I overheard Clawhauser talking about how the package was specifically delivered for Bogo. I think he was the original target."_

Judy moved her paws quickly, desperately searching for the correct one. "Question is: Why?" She asked, taking the photo of Bogo's injuries. She then walked over to a distant bulletin board and pinned the image down, right next to that of the burning precinct.

Both fox and bunny rubbed their chins, intently staring at the two images posted. " _I've got a match."_

Startled by his sudden return, both mammals ran quickly back towards the table and leaned forward. "Already?"

" _Yeah. It actually wasn't that hard. This bunny is one of the top 10 most wanted criminals in our continent. I'll never understand how an entire precinct crawling with officers didn't even recognize him."_ Max groaned.

When Nick looked up to Judy, watching her eyes grow wide and her ears droop. Judy then slammed her closed fist onto the table. "That's where I saw him from!"

Nick took his phone from his pocket and looked at the suspect on the screen. A few seconds passed and his arm went limp to his side, questionable eyebrow raised toward the bunny. "Uhh… Am I missing something here?"

Judy flopped her head in Nick's direction and stared at him disbelievingly. When he shrugged, Judy sighed and pointed at Nick's phone. "The rabbit. His name is Richard Savage, wanted hitmammal with over a million dollars in rewards for any information regarding his whereabouts."

Nick looked down at his phone, squinting his eyes at the screen. "Wait… Savage, Savage, Savage— I know that name!" He snapped his fingers, looking back up at Judy.

Though, the bunny wasn't impressed. "Yes, brother of the famous ZIA agent Jack Savage. Congratulations Nick…"

The fox lifted his phone and gazed between it and Judy but he eventually rested on his partner. "But I thought you were the only bunny cop."

Judy used her paws to sift through the pictures on the table, throwing the useless ones such as ambulances and crowds onto the floor. "I am… Jack and his brother got promoted to agents after their fame rose as bodyguards for billionaires, not through the line of duty." She sighed, gazing back up at her friend. The quizzical expression and the twitch of his tail told her more than a thousand words. "I see the questions coming, just let Bella read his file."

" _Right. Richard L. Savage, former ZIA gone rogue. Uhh… Says here after a bad case, both Savage brother's popularity declined dramatically. Desperately, Richard went to more… unconventional methods to solve the case. He solved it… but it c-cost seven mammals their lives. Ever since then, he's stolen, kidnapped, sabotaged..."_

"Jeez! I don't suppose they also teach those agents to build bombs now?!" Though he was truly curious, his question was left unanswered due to Judy lunging a fist onto his shoulder, where he now rubbed gently with sealed lips.

" _It also says here this guy was known running with some street thug named 'Redeye'."_ Max commented, while the sounds of clicks and scrapes could be heard through the phone.

Nick shivered and took a sticky note from the floor. "Gah, can't stand the guy; complete lunatic. He's some hyena with a long scar across one of his eyes. Thank god too, those red eyes he has scared the crap out of me."

"How'd he lose an eye?" Judy found herself asking.

"Not important." Nick shook his head and pointed at the sticky note glued to the bulletin board. On the yellow card, the word 'Redeye' was printed in capitals… along with the crude drawing of what looks like to be some sort of canine. "What is is that he's crazy, psychotic, and hates cops with a passion. Claims that they are corrupt and need cleansing." Nick took a long piece of yarn and tied it around the tack near the note, connecting it with all three images of Bogo, Savage, and the ZPD building.

"So we got a motive?" Judy asked, slowly walking up to come to Nick's side.

Nick nodded his head in agreement. "Looks like it, but that still doesn't explain why he's targeting Bogo. He's obviously the mastermind behind this plan… But what does he want?"

" _Is it possible to find this guy?"_ Bella asked delicately.

The fox sighed and shook his head, though Bella couldn't see it. "Sadly, no, he's basically a ghost; always changing meeting spots, doesn't leave a trace of himself, and scares the crap out of you, especially with that laugh of his." He shivered while strands of hair rose on his neck.

"Ugh! So we're stuck with _no_ leads?!" Nick's ears flattened at the sound of her squeal. Looking down, Nick fumbled with the useless pictures on the table.

"Uhhh… Maybe we can start with the bomb parts?" He suggested uncertainly.

Bella sighed. " _No, don't think so; the reports freshly came in. Though they're new and could easily be false, they say all traces point to being completely homemade; it wasn't a professional bomb. But they did find traces of C4 in it."_

"Ugh!" Judy groaned, tugging harshly on her ears and slammed her head onto the table.

"We'll get this Judy, I don't doubt it." The fox attempted to sooth, placing both paws on her rigid shoulders.

Judy harshly rose up and pushed his arms off. "Don't you get it?! We've solved cases tougher than this mess with scraps of evidence; nothing compared… this!" She yelled, pointing a sharp finger in the direction of the bulletin board. "Look at everything we've solved together! Hundreds of assignments but look at us, stuck without a single lead or clue to point us in the right direction!" The bunny cried, pounding her forehead over and over on the far wall covered from top to bottom with selfies, while some even featured criminals or civilians.

Eventually, she stopped and opened her tired eyes. The first thing she registered was the grinning face of Nick's keen muzzle, eyes half-lidded with an unforgettable smirk, side hugging the bunny. Judy couldn't help but smile at the image, even if it was faint. She remembered when they took it all too well, of course she would; she always did.

It was that one time they were stuck together in a darker zone of Tundratown, spying on a nearby arms deal in progress. It was that day she made that wretched, hasty decision for Nick, and now, she was full heartedly regretting it; badly.

Shaking herself from her the unwanted thoughts, she removed her head from the wall and looked back to the table's direction, watching her partner work. The fox combed through countless images, pinning those of importance onto the nearby board while hastily communicating with their friends on the other line. Occasionally, he tugged and pulled on his sharp, pointy ears, with predatory teeth shining brightly by the nearby dim lamp; but Judy didn't mind.

With a gloomy expression, Judy turned back toward the wall and stepped back, eyes floating from frame to frame, each slightly brightening the diminished flame inside. Picture after picture, case after case, both cops, partners, and friends stood side-by-side one another, holding each other tightly as they proudly displayed their great work behind them.

Nick didn't know, but she knew the board by heart, and could easily place each photo in order from top to bottom if asked. Afterall, most of her alone time was spent in this very room, facing that very wall. It was her pride, her passion, her love. And every step of the way, the fox was there; not a single photo could be found with him absent.

If it wasn't for the recent uprising of thieves, stealing useless items of non importance, the board wouldn't be so full; they had only been working together for 4 months afterall. Though, her favorite of the bunch had to be Harry Otter, poor kid stealing absurd amounts of fireworks. She had once asked herself why he did it, but never could find out a plausible explanation. The kid wasn't rich, and taking fireworks wasn't going to gain him or his family any money. Fireworks were explosive afterall, small alone, but devastating at times together. Only someone smart enough could use them—

Judy's eyes grew wide at that moment. _The answer was right in front of our faces, and we didn't even see it._ Quickly she turned around and faced the fox slamming his fists on the table. "Nick." Her voice was quiet and soft, still attempting to recover.

Once he didn't respond or even agknowledge her presence, she tried again… and again until it worked.

"Nick!"

"NICK!"

" _What?!"_ He eventually screeched, crudely turning Judy's direction with bloodshot eyes.

"Look!" She said, pointing at the wall of pictures. When he gave a completely confused expression, she rolled her eyes and ran over to tug him towards the wall, pointing at the various images idly resting upon it. "Look! Harry Otter, Jenny Swift, Duke Weaselton, Dawsey Atoms, Clyde Huston… What do all these animals have in common?"

Nick looked at her with furrowed eyebrows and a dense face. "Uhhh… They're all criminals? Seriously, what does this have to do with the—"

Judy quickly interrupted, pointing at each accused criminal with every object listed. "Each one was caught stealing various _household_ items! Fireworks, wires, plastic, tape, jars, paper wrap… And Bella said we couldn't trace the bomb because of—"

Nick shrugged off Judy's paw and walked up to the board, examining it more closely this time. "All the materials used are found in a standard households. The items stolen directly corresponds with the case…" His voice ran cold, staring at the photos with wide eyes.

"It explains why 'Redeye' wasn't mentioned until Richard, why the spree of crimes have been happening over useless stuff—"

"And why they managed to get their supplies unnoticed by us… Carrots you're a genius!" He happily scooped Judy up into his arms and tightly hugged her. He then sat her quickly down and sifted through paperwork littered across the floor.

After a while, he seemingly found what he was looking for, and the expression present on his face was all but pleasant. "But there was a lots of reports of stolen items by many…" He said dryly, giving the paper over towards Judy.

Judy looked it over, and the skin under her fur too fell bleach white. "Which means there are probably more bombs out there…" She gasped and turned around, making eye contact with the fox where they both shared the same astonished expression. "Thank you so much Max and Bella! We've got some suspects to interview! We'll call when we have the chance! DON'T TELL THE CHIEF! _Bye!_ " Judy scrambled for the phone on desk while Nick was already out the door.

" _Uhh… By_ —"

Judy grabbed her badge and ran out the door without a second glance, quickly behind the fox. Both officers hopped into the parked cruiser in the street and hastily turned the machine on.

"Hey Nick?" Judy eventually spoke as she clicked her seatbelt. Nick hummed and gazed sideways for a second before returning his attention back towards the street in front of him. "How do you know Redeye?"

The cruiser slightly swerved to the side, but the fox quickly recovered. "Not important! C'mon, keep an eye out for one of those thieves!" He commanded nervously, pointing a finger out her window's direction.

* * *

He sipped lightly on the bottled water before setting it down next to him along with his cheeseburger and picked up his binoculars. " _Fools…"_ The bunny mumbled as he shook his head, jotting down a few notes. Once he was done, he sat the notepad down and returned his eyes toward the crowded the Square.

His bored eyes eventually caught sight of the bright flashing of blue and red lights from a tinted black vehicle approaching in the street. Curious, he pulled the binoculars up to his face and observed a well dressed warthog step out of the van, when the looked up and down at the partly scorched building. The rabbit turned around and pulled a hefty radio from one of the many pockets of the backpack behind him. "Hey Red… I think the ZIA just showed up." He said into its speaker, which a line of static buzzed in return.

" _Do those idiots really think they can do anything?"_ The other end hummed, though it was mostly filled with a creaky laughter.

Savage chuckled in response and nodded his head. "Apparently so… Just look at them scratching their heads." When the bunny rose the binoculars to his face once more, he witnessed something that tore the smug expression off his face. " _Hmpf…_ Looks like the bomb didn't kill that old beast after all." The bunny grumbled into the handheld radio, watching a buffalo walk up and escort the warthog inside the burnt mess.

The other end sighed, before buzzing once again. " _Oh don't worry, we'll get him eventually. Though I do believe we did get some pelt; wolf I believe, but I'm not sure."_ He chuckled hideously.

"Good, the less of those corrupt bastards, the better." He grunted and turned his attention to the vast crowd in the distance. It didn't look the same as this morning, but it was still hard to move around in the usually open area. Thankfully, the rooftop he rested upon had a perfect view of the nearby streets and full outlook onto the ZPD building.

A small figure out of the mixed crowd caught his attention, and he trailed it's silhouette with the enhancing tool. "Well well well… Looks like the weasel is seeking redemption after all…" Richard chuckled, "Quite smart too."

" _Oh? And why's that my friend?"_

"Dense crowd, distracted law enforcement officers, and plenty of distractions for civilians. Take your pick. I'd say it is the perfect place for weasels like himself."

" _Maybe those things I said to him weren't true afterall…"_

"I wouldn't give peasants such as himself so much credit. Those like him always seem to find some way to disappoint."

" _More fun for me…"_

A few seconds later, the weasel was abruptly pulled and dragged into a less known area, away from the crowd; though the bunny could still see them. "Busted…" He cringed.

" _Not careful enough…"_

The weasel was then forced towards the back of a brick wall and slammed onto the ground. Richard gagged disgustingly at the sight while the rabbit officer towered over the thief's pathetic form. The fox partner did nothing but stand behind her with crossed arms and impatiently tapped his foot.

Though he expected abuse to be normal, there was something oddly different about this duo by the way they acted. They were famous of course; after all, who hadn't heard of the fox and bunny. Still, these cops were agitated, using aggressive force in the middle of a very populated area next to camera crews; yet they didn't seem to care one bit. They were acting suspicious, very suspicious, forcing a random nobody to talk like they knew something… Something that was worth all the publicity they'd get afterwards...

Something they shouldn't know.

"Sir, we've got a problem." He crackled, taking his finger off the radio's side and intently watched the weasel talk hastily to the fox and bunny.

* * *

 **First of all, I hope you all enjoyed this packed chapter! I sure had some fun when I finally had the time to create it. I hope I touched some emotions but I know it wasn't enough to break those tears… I'll save those juicy parts for later. Second of all, I am very curious to know if you all want that bonus chapter or not. 100 favorites is just right around the corner and I surely wouldn't mind giving you a sneak peek under the cover on what caused Echo to look like a mummy.**

 **Third of all, I believe I used more of an artistic view and broader vocabulary when writing this, though I'm not sure. It does feel like it, and I know why. I have that type of personality that easily mimics or copies that of others. For example, if I watch some show about a protagonist who is super smart (Limitless, Lucy, etc.), it literally feels like an intelligence boost. Same goes for when I watch some funny movie who socializes a lot, I become talkative. It's a reason why I can't stand hurt/comfort, because after watching/reading, I become extremely depressed and sad. *shivers***

 **Recently, I've been reading a book; for your information, it is a true work of art. As such, this darn adaptive personality of mine mimics and steals ideas and vocabulary I find there. To summerize me up, I learn best from watching or experiencing myself; I'm an extremely quick learner. That's where most of my writing techniques came from. Thank you to all those authors out there who make beautiful works of literature, I learn from you guys. C:**

 **Enough of my history lesson, I give to** _ **thee**_ **responses to the explosive comments I got for the last chapter! Thank you all SOOO much for that and I deeply hope to hear your opinions of this chapter as well as if you want that bonus chapter or not. I thank you 13 with all my heart.**

* * *

 **Note to all you reviewers, do you want to see that bonus chapter I mentioned at the very beginning A/N of this chapter? I really want to know!**

 _ **Archangel12575 -**_ Haha d'awww…. I really wanted to… Just, a little? *grunts* Finnneeeee. Nah… Jk, I never planned on killing Echo, just wanted to make that moment with the bomb just _that_ much more special. Did I do alright? I hope this chapter was good enough.

 _ **Domfactor2 -**_ It was? :D I really hope I kept it at that good level or even hopefully improved. I'm not sure. One cannot tell if their work is adequate; feedback, preferably honest with the touch of respect to not being overly blunt is the key to improvement. I hope you enjoy this chapter. :)

 _ **Gabe5Bricks -**_ He'll live… or will he? Muahaha, I was aiming for dohs feels with Echo, did I do good? I wasn't trying to make people cry so it wasn't at that level of sadness but pretty close (right?). I'm really glad I got Nick's mom somewhat correct with no information about her given xD I just did what I thought would make a great character and something that seems motherly. Thank you for the kind word and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.

 _ **MrAndersIversen -**_ Thank you for those awesome words. But I must object on my chapters being good. I believe that some are better than others and others can really use some improvement, but what it is is what it is. Also, don't compare my story to yours, that doesn't do anything but make you feel bad. Trust me, I know (I do it way too often xD) That's fine with updating, update when you can, don't feel obligated. But you must know that I am looking forward to that next chapter whenever you do update. Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter… I think it could've been better :S (I say that every time)

 _ **PointyHairedJedi -**_ You're right, I did in a way base him as best as I can on that joker. I am very open to any ideas you may have or things that would seem best to fit that role. I do have somewhat of a layout and plan for this whole arc but give me any ideas you have, I'll see what I can do. Thanks for suggesting :) PMs fine for me lol (Sorry I didn't message you first, I would've just school just started recently and I already have homework :lllll) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well and it didn't seem… i dunno, boring?

 _ **KevinStoner -**_ Haha really? I couldn't help but check your profile to see if I may have read your story in the past but I couldn't find a FanFic there :o Is it on a different site? I wouldn't mind a good read :P And I think a lot picked the name Vivian for Mrs. Wilde because a female fox is a vixen; I guess it's a play on the words. And wow, really? Same or nearly identical? O.O What's that saying? "All great minds think alike?" ;)

 _ **Foxlover91 -**_ Haha sorry about those cliffhangers… I wanted to do that for quite a bit, just like I have other things planned xD I didn't overcook jelly bunny did I? I was hoping I simmered her juuuusssttt right. I also hoped I got Vivian's personality the same you (or anyone else) thought of. It's tricky not knowing since they didn't really 'show' show her lol Again, sorry about these darn cliffhangers xD But I promise you he isn't dead (yet…) :) Hope you like this chapter!

 _ **ALookInsideMyHead -**_ Cliffhangers FTW! To be honest, I was kinda worried that the transition from calm to suddenly an explosion would be a bit too much of a shock, slightly irritating the readers. I'm glad to know that it wasn't the case for you. :) I do hope I don't push the boundaries on techniques like that. There are plenty of things I plan on doing but I'm not sure how you'll react. I guess there's only one way to find out lol I hope you liked this chapter and I hope it wasn't boring :l I am way too paranoid but nothing I can do really that'll help xD

 _ **Lockdown00 -**_ Oh no… They're on to me *sprints away* YOU'LL NEVER KNOW WHAT SECRETS I HIDEEEEEE!

 _ **Pedo-Sandwich -**_ Darn… Am I predictable? Gahhhhh… I dun leik feeling that way. Maybe I should throw some twists in to throw you off track. Well, we'll see how it goes. :) I hope you really did enjoy this chapter and I really am wondering what you think. Also, don't forget that question about 'said' bonus chapter. Well, until your next review I guess!

 _ **Zootopia fan of fiction -**_ Wwwhhhhaaatttt? Nahhhh, why would she have a reason to be jelly now? :3 Haha, I hope you really did enjoy this chapter and I am very pleased to hear you liked the previous one. I've got a lot planned but I'm not sure if you'll like it, but I guess we shall see.

 _ **Agent007 1 -**_ Sorry! I couldn't help it! Hones…. Yeah, okay, not really. But I don't think I have that dramatic cliffhangers in the future… Or maybe I do but I really don't know yet xD But in all seriousness now, thank you for such a positive review. It isn't often a review pops up actually analyzing the story based on plot, characters, and grammar, and I'm glad I passed those tests. And yeah haha, I wasn't sure about that chocolate thing. The only main reason I have for doing that is to give my story personality; a touch of uniqueness between the rest. Though, I'm reallllyyyyy glad that date was accurate xD I have nooo clue (and I hope I don't have to suffer those awkward moments ever too) Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thank you so much for those words of encouragement.

 _ **Lefalleneur1 -**_ Thank you so much for those words. I am constantly trying to improve. Sometimes we have good days, sometimes we have bad days. I hope how I wrote this one was on a good day. Sorry it may have took so long for this chapter to come out, but I've been a bit busy with everything, but turns out, school actually gives you more time to write than I thought xD Who knew? Anyways, I reallllyyyy hope you enjoyed this chapter. I don't like to disappoint.

* * *

 **Thank you all for reviewing and I wish to hear from you all again in this chapter. I thought I might incorporate my previous OC's, remind you guys about that bet Nick has yet to fulfill, and build up that suspense. Hope I did alright. Before I go, I have something very important to say to my friend** _**ice in dark.**_ **, no, I have not forgotten about you; never. Between school and procrastination, I haven't had time to reply to your message. Don't fear you have done something wrong, you are perfectly fine, it is me who is wrong here. I've been thinking deeply on how to respond before I do; I want it to be perfect and I need to think everything through first. REALLY hope you understand. But I promise I will reply soon once I have the time, and I keep my promises.**

 **Thank you all again for all the support! It means sooo much to me. Until the next chapter! Ciao**

 **Edited by N-I-C-K-E-L-A-Z-!**


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